The variational principles of mechanics

Name: The variational principles of mechanics
ISBN: 0486650677

by Cornelius Lanczos · first published 1949

7mentions

6recommended by

6HN commenters

2015–2025first – last mentioned

100% recommend

Why HN recommends it

Clear, physically motivated treatment of classical mechanics built on variational principles. Its readable style suits those who want to understand Lagrangian and least-action ideas deeply.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

Physics & Cosmology

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What Hacker News says

kjak · Apr 21, 2015 · Recommends

I'm happy to see The Variational Principles of Mechanics (by the great Lanczos) on that list. It really is deep, and I think it does a fantastic job of explaining classical mechanics. I've read the vast majority of the book multiple times. Since we're on…
on “Prof. Sussman's Reading List” ↗
tjl · Jul 23, 2016 · Recommends

…symbol lower case delta. The both amount to the same thing, but the notation is different. There's epsilon in the Lagrange approach, it's just buried. For Lagrange's approach, I recommend Lanczos' "The Variational Principles of Mechanics". It's published by Dover so if you can't find it in a library, it's only about $10 last I checked. For the other approach, we used John Troutman's "Variational Calculus and Optimal Control: Optimization…
on “The Brachistochrone: The Problem of Quickest Descent” ↗
m31415 · Oct 24, 2019 · Recommends

…systems with a little bit of chaos/fractals thrown in) but very good nonetheless. 3. Tristan Needham, "Visual Complex Analysis", beautiful introduction to complex analysis. 4. Cornelius Lanczos, "The Variational Principles of Mechanics" -- this is a physics book, but one of the classics in the subject, and as Gerald Sussman once remarked, you glean new insights each time you read it. 5. Cornelius Lanczos, "Linear Differential Operators"…
on “Ask HN: Are there books for mathematics like Feynman's lectures on physics?” ↗
b215826 · Jan 19, 2020 · Recommends

Among technical books, books by Cornelius Lanczos are some of the best (less popular) books I've read. Some quotes from his "The Variational Principles of Mechanics": From the Preface: Many of the scientific treatises of today are formulated in a half-mystical language, as though to impress the reader with the uncomfortable feeling that he is in the permanent presence…
on “Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read?” ↗
b215826 · Mar 18, 2020 · Recommends

…centuries ago). In any case, my "textbook" would not look very different from the other 99% of textbooks written on analytical mechanics. If you want a recommendation, pick up Cornelius Lanczos's The Variational Principles of Mechanics [1], which is a real classic and a gem of a book. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Variational-Principles-Mechanics-Dove...
on “Cambridge University Press make their books free until May” ↗
selimthegrim · Oct 12, 2016 · Recommends

Another one in this vein is The Variational Principles of Mechanics by Cornelius Lanczos.
on “So You Want to Learn Physics” ↗
omnicognate · Oct 27, 2025 · Recommends

…it as I only just discovered it myself, but it appears to be very highly regarded, it focuses on precisely the questions you (and I) have, and just from the preface I like the author already [1]: The Variational Principles of Mechanics, by Cornelius Lanczos. There's a PDF here: https://pages.jh.edu/rrynasi1/PhysicalPrinciples/literature/... [1] An appetising quote: > The author is well aware that he could have shortened his exposition…
on “Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics (2014)” ↗