Mechanics
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Mechanics is the branch of physics which looks at bodies that are influenced by forces and moved.
The discipline has its roots in ancient Greece where Aristotle studied the way bodies behaved when they were thrown through the air (e.g. a stone). However it was Galileo, Kepler and especially Newton who lay the foundation for much of the so called Newtonian mechanics we know today.
A person working in the discipline is known as a mechanician.
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[change] Significance
Mechanics is the original discipline of physics, dealing with the macroscopic world that humans perceive. It is therefore a huge body of knowledge about the natural world. Mechanics encompasses the movement of all matter in the universe under the four forces: gravity, the strong and weak interactions, and the electromagnetic interaction.
Mechanics also constitutes a central part of technology
[change] Some aspects of classical mechanics
- Astrodynamics, spacecraft navigation, etc.
- Solid mechanics, elasticity, the properties of (semi-)rigid bodies
- Acoustics, sound in solids, fluids, etc.
- Hydraulics, fluids in equilibrium
- Applied / Engineering mechanics
- Statistical mechanics, large assemblies of particles
- Relativistic or Einsteinian mechanics, universal gravitation
[change] Quantum mechanics
The following are categorized as being part of Quantum mechanics:
- Particle physics, the motion, structure, and reactions of particles
- Nuclear physics, the motion, structure, and reactions of nuclei
- Condensed matter physics, quantum gases, solids, liquids, etc.
- Quantum statistical mechanics, large assemblies of particles
