01 January 1970 73 7K Report

Students in college have a full schedule. Classical physics is no longer used in research -- it says that mass is conserved, time is absolute, there is no laser possible, quantum levels do not exist, and the hypothesis of continuity is true.

Mass is only conserved as an illusion, its value changes according to E0=mc2, and binding energy.

(Talks here about "mass is conserved" is even helpful -- it helps define what mass is not, and after the atomic bomb 75+ years ago, is just posturing. Life is a school; everyone helps, the noise defines what is a signal.)

The false expectations of classical physics end up creating bad intuitions and wasting time. Time to deprecate it, after 100+ years.

Students can save time and get correct intuitions by going directly to the Euler-Lagrange (E-L) equation, while getting no false results.

The E-L equation allows one to study F=ma (i.e., Newtonian mechanics) for more complex systems (e.g., double-pendulum, atoms, and black-holes), prepare on-ramps for Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, and get ready for future studies in electromagnetism -- such as diamagnetism, laser, and other quantum mechanical effects (e.g., in diamagnetism, materials placed in a magnetic field become weakly magnetized in a direction opposite to that of the applied field).

For example, students do not learn at first how to subtract a LARGER number from a SMALLER number (e.g., 3 - 5 = -2) -- it is just forbidden to so. But that happens in 1st grade! As students progress, there is no space to repeat incomplete or wrong stuff.

Classical physics, likewise, has no place in college, no space, and it is not to be used later! Then, modern physics can be taught correctly from the E-L equation, which the student had time to master earlier -- in F=ma (Newtonian mechanics), for example.

The E-L equation works in physics research as a general formalism and is not restricted to 3D + 1D curves, but full 4D. Classical mechanics is history, not science. It should be phased out of high-school also, because not everyone attends college.

In all instances where one thinks that classical mechanics can be used, even of a simple spring and mass, one can use the E-L equation, and get easily further insights. For example, what is the influence of the mass of the spring itself? This case (with and without a massless spring) is solved simply using the E-L equation in [1].

A proposal is presented and validated at my homepage. This work [1] further shows that the E-L equation gives the correct answers compared to F=ma (Newtonian mechanics), and beyond. There is no reason to retain classical mechanics or classical physics (e.g., classical EM).

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZX1Z1J8

More Ed Gerck's questions See All
Similar questions and discussions