Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1161441 | Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics | 2007 | 44 Pages |
Abstract
The idealization of primitive mechanical experience is shown to lead to four mutually related formulations of classical mechanics based on connections, action at a distance, stresses, and collisions. For a given structure of spacetime and a given characterization of mechanical systems, fundamental laws (including Newton's law of acceleration and d’Alembert's principle) are derived from a few general principles regarding the comprehensibility of motion. Special emphasis is placed on the “secular principle,” according to which the evolution of a system at the relevant time scale should not depend on finer details of the applied forces.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Physics and Astronomy (General)
Authors
Olivier Darrigol,