3 papers
physics.class-ph2021
Demystifying the Lagrangians of special relativity
Gerd Wagner, Matthew W. Guthrie
Special relativity beyond its basic treatment can be inaccessible, in particular because introductory physics courses typically view special relativity as decontextualized from the…
math-ph2020
Demystifying the Lagrangian formalism for field theories
Gerd Wagner, Matthew W. Guthrie
This paper expands on previous work to derive and motivate the Lagrangian formulation of field theories. In the process, we take three deliberate steps. First, we give the definiti…
physics.class-ph2019
Demystifying the Lagrangian of classical mechanics
Gerd Wagner, Matthew W. Guthrie
The Lagrangian formulation of classical mechanics is widely applicable in solving a vast array of physics problems encountered in the undergraduate and graduate physics curriculum.…