Calculus of Variations (Dover Books on Mathematics)

Product Description

Based on a series of lectures given by I. M. Gelfand at Moscow State University, this book actually goes considerably beyond the material presented in the lectures. The aim is to give a treatment of the elements of the calculus of variations in a form both easily understandable and sufficiently modern. Considerable attention is devoted to physical applications of variational methods, e.g., canonical equations, variational principles of mechanics, and conservation laws.The reader who merely wishes to become familiar with the most basic concepts and methods of the calculus of variations need only study the first chapter. Students wishing a more extensive treatment, however, will find the firs…