Is there a more systematic approach to classical mechanics than Newtons second law?

[maticpecovnik]

We have all been there. We were solving some supposedly easy problem where one just had to write out the equations of motion, ie. Newtons second law of motion. It should be simple the teacher said.

But all of a sudden you happen upon a problem. The equation is vectorial in nature so the directions of various forces play a significant role. One missplaced minus will destroy this entire super fun experience.

Is there a more systematic and easier approach to classical mechanics than Newtons second law?

StemQ Notice: This post was originally submitted on StemQ.io, a Q&A application for STEM subjects powered by the Steem blockchain.

Comments

[irelandscape]

Lagrangian mechanics?

[maticpecovnik]

Exactly. I really enjoyed them in College so I will try to do some fun analytical stuff on seemingly complicated examples.

[accelerator]

Followed by Hamiltonian mechanics.

I'm not sure it would qualify as "easier", but it is more "elementary". The question asks about classical mechanics, so the next step that led to quantum mechanics is beyond the scope of the question.

[maticpecovnik]

I would say that Lagrangian mechanics made my life a lot easier while studying Physics because you could practically turn off your brain even in very hard multi-object systems, as everything is based on scalars and the minuses and pluses come out right by definition. So I would say it is "easier".

[accelerator]

Seems such a long time ago... memory can't push past the haze of quantum mechanics :-)

[steem-ua]

Hi @maticpecovnik!

Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 2.916 which ranks you at #11165 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has improved 367 places in the last three days (old rank 11532).

In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 225 contributions, your post is ranked at #180.

Evaluation of your UA score:

• Only a few people are following you, try to convince more people with good work.
• Your contribution has not gone unnoticed, keep up the good work!
• You have already shown user engagement, try to improve it further.

Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server

[steemhq]

Congratulations,
you just received a 12.34% upvote from @steemhq - Community Bot!

Wanna join and receive free upvotes yourself?
Vote for steemhq.witness on Steemit or directly on SteemConnect and join the Community Witness.

This service was brought to you by SteemHQ.com