Present
By the end of the 20th century, classical mechanics in physics was no longer an independent theory. Along with classical electromagnetism, it has become imbedded in relativistic quantum mechanics or quantum field theory. It defines the non-relativistic, non-quantum mechanical limit for massive particles.
Classical mechanics has also been a source of inspiration for mathematicians. The realization that the phase space in classical mechanics admits a natural description as a symplectic manifold (indeed a cotangent bundle in most cases of physical interest), and symplectic topology, which can be thought of as the study of global issues of Hamiltonian mechanics, has been a fertile area of mathematics research since the 1980s.
Read more about this topic: History Of Classical Mechanics
Famous quotes containing the word present:
“There is not any present moment that is unconnected with some future one. The life of every man is a continued chain of incidents, each link of which hangs upon the former. The transition from cause to effect, from event to event, is often carried on by secret steps, which our foresight cannot divine, and our sagacity is unable to trace. Evil may at some future period bring forth good; and good may bring forth evil, both equally unexpected.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“Women ... are degraded by the ... propensity to enjoy the present moment, and, at last, despise the freedom which they have not sufficient virtue to struggle to attain.”
—Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
“The instant field of the present is at all times what I call the ‘pure’ experience. It is only virtually or potentially either object or subject as yet.”
—William James (1842–1910)