This page presents videos for the first half of the class lectures. These lectures are particularly important because they contain the new kinematics approach.

Note: video is not available for Lecture 6.

Disclaimer from Professor Sarma: A lecture is like a live performance -- there are no retakes. So when you watch these videos, please keep in mind that I am human, and I make mistakes. For example, at minute 12 of the video of Lec #2 I make a mistake when I describe why the earth is an approximate inertial frame. What I mean to say is that the Earth, though moving, is accelerating relatively slowly with respect to some imaginary but real inertial frame when compared with, say a space-craft. So we treat it as an inertial frame, and experiments show that that is a good approximation. That's not how I say it in the video, but the students did understand what I meant because the staff of the class interact with the students in a number of ways. So watch these videos but stay alert -- and keep in mind that besides making mistakes, I also sometimes joke with my students.

This class is an introduction to the dynamics and vibrations of lumped-parameter models of mechanical systems. Topics include kinematics; force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion; work-energy concepts; virtual displacements and virtual work; Lagrange's equations for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion; linearization of equations of motion; linear stability analysis of mechanical systems; free and forced vibration of linear multi-degree of freedom models of mechanical systems; and matrix eigenvalue problems. The class includes an introduction to numerical methods and using MATLAB® to solve dynamics and vibrations problems.

This version of the class stresses kinematics and builds around a strict but powerful approach to kinematic formulation which is different from the approach presented in Spring 2007. Our notation was adapted from that of Professor Kane of Stanford University. less