Principles of Vibration PDF

Preface

Well, several years have gone by and, happily, I've gotten requests for a second edition. So here it is. Since I now get another chance to wax eloquent, I'm going to make the most of it.

Those who're new to the book are possibly wondering why it exists, i.e., what makes it any different from "the competition." My claim to fame, if I have one, is that I write "to the students" as opposed to writing for the instructors using the book. These really are different audiences and I believe that the approach I've chosen makes a significant difference in the interest/motivation and ultimate learning that takes place. By "writing for the instructor" I mean writing a long and detailed text that strives for completeness and rigor, something that an expert in the field will appreciate and value. The problem is that at this point in their careers, students encountering the book are just beginning to learn vibrations. Just as a dance instructor would never overwhelm a beginning ballerina with complicated pirouettes and arabesques, there's nothing to be gained by piling vibrations esoterica onto someone at the start of his or her studies.

The approach I take is to introduce the topics of interest in a physically motivated way and to then show how one can use the material in a useful manner. Once that's done I go into some of the underlying details. The tone of the text is decidedly familiar. Many students have e-mailed and told me that it seemed that I was there with them, explaining the material to them in a one-an-one sort of way, as they read the book. That's exactly what I was aiming for. One student even went so far as to say the book makes good bedtime reading, but I think they might have been going a little overboard on that observation.