Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

1. Introduction to the mechanical universe -- 2. The law of falling bodies -- 3. The language of nature -- 4. Inertia -- 5. Vectors -- 6. Newton's laws and equilibrium -- 7. Universal gravitation and circular motion -- 8. Forces -- 9. Forces in accelerating reference frames -- 10. Energy -- 11. The conservation of momentum -- 12. Oscillatory motion -- 13. Angular motion -- 14. Rotational dynamics for rigid bodies -- 15. Gyroscopes -- 16. Kepler's laws and the conic sections -- 17. Solving the Kepler problem -- 18. Navigating in space -- 19. Temperature and the gas laws -- 20. The engine of nature -- 21. Entropy -- 22. The quest for low temperature -- Appendices A-E -- Selected bibliography -- Index.

This innovative physics textbook intended for science and engineering majors develops classical mechanics from a historical perspective. The presentation of the standard course material includes a discussion of the thought processes of the discoverers and a description of the methods by which they arrived at their theories. However the presentation proceeds logically rather than strictly chronologically, so new concepts are introduced at the natural moment. The book assumes a familiarity with calculus, includes a discussion of rigid body motion, and contains numerous thought-provoking problems. It is largely based in content on The Mechanical Universe: Introduction to Mechanics and Heat, a book designed in conjunction with a tele-course to be offered by PBS in the Fall of 1985. The advanced edition, however, does not coincide exactly with the video lessons, contains additional material, and develops the fundamental ideas introduced in the lower-level edition to a greater degree.