5 Classical Mechanics

Classical mechanics is the phenomenon of the deterministic motion of macroscopic objects through space and time under the influence of mutual interactions.

Space is a property of objects: their positions and the distances between them. Time is a property of events: their order and their duration.

Classical mechanics is related to special relativity and quantum mechanics because Newtonian motion is independent of the microscopic state of matter and of relativistic frame transformations when speeds are much smaller than the speed of light and the action is large.

5.1 Topics

1. Space
2. Time
3. Position
4. Velocity
5. Acceleration
6. Angular Momentum
7. Torque
8. Derivation of Lagrangian

5.2 References

1. Shankar, R. Fundamentals of Physics I. Yale University Press, 2019. Ch. 3, 5, 8, 13 — motion of objects in space and time.
2. Knight, R. D. Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach with Modern Physics. Pearson, 2023. Ch. 5, 7, 10–12 — position, distance, and the timing of events.
3. Feynman, R. P., Leighton, R. B., & Sands, M. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. I. Ch. 9, 10, 12, 20 — Newtonian motion when speeds are small compared with light.
4. Schwichtenberg, J. Physics from Symmetry. Springer, 2018. §4.1 — classical mechanics as the large-action limit.

• Acceleration
• Angular Momentum
• Derivation of Lagrangian
• Position
• Space
• Time
• Torque
• Velocity