PH306 Continuum Mechanics (Spring 2017-18)

Instructor name Prof Raghunath Chelakkot

Course Type: Honours / Elective

Pre-requisites: None, but knowing Rigid Body Dynamics and Tensors does help. These are covered briefly in lectures too.

Course Content:
Lagrangian formalism
Rigid Body Dynamics
Tensors
Fluid dynamics
Elasticity

Books: Goldstein, Landau for elasticity part

Lectures: Attendance is not considered. The prof teaches on the blackboard, except for the first lecture. The class sometimes becomes boring but the concepts introduced are interesting. Many arguments seem hand wavy especially in the elasticity part but that's not the prof's inability to explain, but the theory in that domain is itself developed on many assumptions historically.

Assignments: No assignments. Tutorials are just right in difficulty level and are very relevant for the exams.

Exams and Grading: Quiz 1- 15%, Quiz 2- 15%, midsem 30 and endsem 40. Grading of exam papers is done very leniently. Often more marks than deserved are given (reduces cribs).

Followup Courses: I am not aware. But fluid mechanics and tensors will help in GR.

Pro-Tips: Solve previous years' papers and tutorials before exams.

Personal Comments: The prof works hard to get the content across. Don't waste a lot of time in class if you are not satisfied with the prof's reply about your doubt. Reading later about it yourself is a much better option.

Respondent: Manu

Note: This is a review to help you make a more informed choice about how to study for this course and/or choosing this course. While we've tried to keep it objective and complete, one must keep in mind that students have varying interests, methods of study, and the course itself changes from year to year.

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