What is Mechanics?
'''Mechanics''' is a branch of [[physics]] which looks at objects that are moved by [[Force (physics)|forces]] (including other bodies, or forces of nature). 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]], [[Johannes Kepler|Kepler]] and especially [[Isaac Newton|Newton]] who laid the foundations for much of the so-called ''[[Newtonian mechanics]]'' we know today.[[File:Newtons cradle animation book.gif|thumb|Animation of ''Newton's cradle'' from Newton's book ''Principia Mathematica''.]] A person working in the discipline is known as a [[mechanician]]. == 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 interaction|strong]] and [[weak interaction]]s, and the electromagnetic interaction. Mechanics also constitutes a central part of [[technology]]. === Some aspects of classical mechanics === * [[Astrodynamics]], spacecraft [[navigation]], [[orbital eccentricity]], etc. * [[Solid mechanics]], [[Elasticity (physics)|elasticity]], the properties of (semi-)rigid bodies * [[Acoustics]], [[sound]] in solids, fluids, etc. * [[Hydraulics]], fluids in equilibrium * [[Applied mechanics|Applied / Engineering mechanics]] * [[Statistical mechanics]], large assemblies of particles * Relativistic or [[Albert Einstein|Einsteinian]] mechanics, universal [[gravitation]] === Newton === [[Isaac Newton|Newton]] proposed three laws of motion. #An object will stay at a constant speed unless a force acts on it. #F= Ma: the overall force acting on an object = the [[mass]] of the object multiplied by the object's [[acceleration]]. #For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. === Quantum mechanics === The following are catego