Mathematics and Mechanics - The Interplay: Volume I: The Basics

The style is colloquial. The emphasis is on intuition - lengthy but intuitive proofs are preferred to simple non-intuitive ones. The mathematical/mechanical sophistication gradually increases, making the volume widely accessible. Intuitionis not at the expense of rigor. Except for grammar-school material, every statement that is later used is rigorously proven. Guidelines that facilitate the reading of the book are presented.

The interplay between mathematics and mechanics is presented within a historical context, to show that often mechanics stimulated mathematical developments - Newton comes to mind. Sometimes mathematics was introduced independently of its mechanics applications, such as the absolute calculus for Einstein's general theory of relativity. Bio-sketches of all the scientists encountered are included and show that many of them dealt with both mathematics and mechanics.