In classical mechanics, Maupertuis' principle (named after Pierre Louis Maupertuis) is an integral equation that determines the path followed by a physical system without specifying the time parameterization of that path. It is a special case of the more generally stated principle of least action. More precisely, it is a formulation of the equations of motion for a physical system not as differential equations, but as an integral equation, using the calculus of variations.
Read more about Maupertuis' Principle: Mathematical Formulation, Jacobi's Formulation, Comparison With Hamilton's Principle, History
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“For me chemistry represented an indefinite cloud of future potentialities which enveloped my life to come in black volutes torn by fiery flashes, like those which had hidden Mount Sinai. Like Moses, from that cloud I expected my law, the principle of order in me, around me, and in the world.... I would watch the buds swell in spring, the mica glint in the granite, my own hands, and I would say to myself: “I will understand this, too, I will understand everything.””
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