Overview
Mechanics was the first area of Physics to be developed using modern mathematics, and formed the foundation of other branches of Physics.
Formulations
Classical mechanics has been formulated in several equivalent frameworks.
- Newtonian - the initial formulation of mechanics that was formulated by Isaac Newton.
- Lagrangian - introduced by Lagrange in 1760, it provides an equivalent formulation to Newtons. It is the formulation used in developing much of quantum field theory.
- Hamiltonian - introduced by Hamilton in 1833 as an alternate the to the Lagrangian formulation.
Topics
- Gravity - was one of the first topics that was given a full systematic analysis using mechanics.
- Symmetries - mechanical problems display symmetries, which become important in relativity and quantum field theory.