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Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory that describes the behavior of nature at and below the scale of atoms. [2]: 1.1 It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science. Quantum mechanics can describe many systems that classical physics cannot.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 15 November 2024. Description of large objects' physics For other uses, see Classical Mechanics (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find ...
Domains of major fields of physics. Branches of physics include classical mechanics; thermodynamics and statistical mechanics; electromagnetism and photonics; relativity; quantum mechanics, atomic physics, and molecular physics; optics and acoustics; condensed matter physics; high-energy particle physics and nuclear physics; cosmology; and interdisciplinary fields.
Classical theory has at least two distinct meanings in physics. It can include all those areas of physics that do not make use of quantum mechanics, which includes classical mechanics (using any of the Newtonian, Lagrangian, or Hamiltonian formulations), as well as classical electrodynamics and relativity.
Quantum mechanics is the study of matter and its interactions with energy on the scale of atomic and subatomic particles.By contrast, classical physics explains matter and energy only on a scale familiar to human experience, including the behavior of astronomical bodies such as the moon.
[12] [13]: 150 The physics concept of force makes quantitative the everyday idea of a push or a pull. Forces in Newtonian mechanics are often due to strings and ropes, friction, muscle effort, gravity, and so forth. Like displacement, velocity, and acceleration, force is a vector quantity.
In the 19th century, the basic laws of electromagnetism and statistical mechanics were discovered. Physics was transformed by the discoveries of quantum mechanics, relativity, and atomic theory at the beginning of the 20th century. Physics today may be divided loosely into classical physics and modern physics.
A classical field theory is a physical theory that predicts how one or more fields in physics interact with matter through field equations, without considering effects of quantization; theories that incorporate quantum mechanics are called quantum field theories.