Chronology | Current Month | Current Thread | Current Date |
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] | [Date Index] [Thread Index] | [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] | [Date Prev] [Date Next] |
Having said that, the Principle seems to have shortcomings.
2. A criticism leveled at the classical mechanics version of the
Principle is that although it can used to derive Newton's Laws (or at
least the 2nd one), one needs Newton's Laws to do so.
So, wherefore the Principle of Least Action? Are my observations...
above off-base? Is there a treatment out there that starts with the
Principle, delineates branch points for different physics
disciplines, and systematically but comprehensively addresses the
so-called shortcomings?
I have purposely left out quantum mechanics, even though one sees
more discussion of the Principle there, as the Hamiltonian is more
"developed" than in classical mechanics. But perhaps this is the key?
Perhaps the only way to clear this up is to make QM the starting
point for Least Action, and derive paths to the other disciplines
from it?