Classical mechanics - Description of the theory

In physics, classical mechanics or Newtonian mechanics is one of the two major sub-fields of study in the science of mechanics, which is concerned with the set of physical laws governing and mathematically describing the motions of bodies and aggregates of bodies. The other sub-field is quantum mechanics. The term classical mechanics was coined in the early 20th century to describe the system of mathematical physics developed in the 400 years since the groundbreaking works of Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo,but before the dev ...

Including:

• Classical mechanics - Description of the theory
• Classical mechanics - Position and its derivatives
• Classical mechanics - Forces; Newton's second law
• Classical mechanics - Energy
• Classical mechanics - Beyond Newton's Laws
• Classical mechanics - Classical transformations
• Classical mechanics - History
• Classical mechanics - Limits of validity
• Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to special relativity
• Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to quantum mechanics
• Classical mechanics - Notes

Read more here: » Classical mechanics: Encyclopedia - Classical mechanics

The following introduces the basic concepts of classical mechanics. For simplicity, it uses point particles, objects with negligible size. The motion of a point particle is characterized by a small number of parameters: its position, mass, and the forces applied to it. Each of these parameters is discussed in turn. In reality, the kind of objects which classical mechanics can describe always have a non-zero size. True point particles, such as the electron, are normally better described by quantum mechanics. Objects with non-zero size ...

See also:

Classical mechanics, Classical mechanics - Description of the theory, Classical mechanics - Position and its derivatives, Classical mechanics - Forces; Newton's second law, Classical mechanics - Energy, Classical mechanics - Beyond Newton's Laws, Classical mechanics - Classical transformations, Classical mechanics - History, Classical mechanics - Limits of validity, Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to special relativity, Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to quantum mechanics, Classical mechanics - Notes

Read more here: » Classical mechanics: Encyclopedia II - Classical mechanics - Description of the theory

Main article: History of classical mechanics The Greeks, and Aristotle in particular, were the first to propose that there are abstract principles governing nature. One of the first scientists who suggested abstract laws was Galileo Galilei who may have performed the famous experiment of dropping two cannon balls from the tower of Pisa. (The theory and the practice showed that they both hit the ground at the same time.) Though the reality of this experiment is disputed, he did carry out quantitative experiments by rolling balls on an inclined plane; his correct theory of accelerated motion was apparent ...

See also:

Classical mechanics, Classical mechanics - Description of the theory, Classical mechanics - Position and its derivatives, Classical mechanics - Forces; Newton's second law, Classical mechanics - Energy, Classical mechanics - Beyond Newton's Laws, Classical mechanics - Classical transformations, Classical mechanics - History, Classical mechanics - Limits of validity, Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to special relativity, Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to quantum mechanics, Classical mechanics - Notes

Read more here: » Classical mechanics: Encyclopedia II - Classical mechanics - History

Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to special relativity. Non-relativistic classical mechanics approximates the relativistic momentum with m0v, so it is only valid when the velocity is much less than the speed of light. For example, the relativistic cyclotron frequency of a cyclotron, gyrotron, or high voltage magnetron is given by , where fc is the classical frequency of an electron (or oth ...

See also:

Classical mechanics, Classical mechanics - Description of the theory, Classical mechanics - Position and its derivatives, Classical mechanics - Forces; Newton's second law, Classical mechanics - Energy, Classical mechanics - Beyond Newton's Laws, Classical mechanics - Classical transformations, Classical mechanics - History, Classical mechanics - Limits of validity, Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to special relativity, Classical mechanics - The classical approximation to quantum mechanics, Classical mechanics - Notes

Read more here: » Classical mechanics: Encyclopedia II - Classical mechanics - Limits of validity