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Three-body problem. Approximate trajectories of three identical bodies located at the vertices of a scalene triangle and having zero initial velocities. The center of mass, in accordance with the law of conservation of momentum, remains in place. In physics, specifically classical mechanics, the three-body problem is to take the initial ...
Pure mathematics starts with known rules and extrapolates: theoretical physics starts with the final phenomena, and works backwards to reverse-engineer what the most efficient rules might be that can generate them. Finding these rules is generally considered to some extent to be a matter of trained intuition.
The following is a list of notable unsolved problems grouped into broad areas of physics. [ 1 ] Some of the major unsolved problems in physics are theoretical, meaning that existing theories seem incapable of explaining a certain observed phenomenon or experimental result. The others are experimental, meaning that there is a difficulty in ...
Newton's first law expresses the principle of inertia: the natural behavior of a body is to move in a straight line at constant speed. A body's motion preserves the status quo, but external forces can perturb this. The modern understanding of Newton's first law is that no inertial observer is privileged over any other.
Many mathematical problems have been stated but not yet solved. These problems come from many areas of mathematics, such as theoretical physics, computer science, algebra, analysis, combinatorics, algebraic, differential, discrete and Euclidean geometries, graph theory, group theory, model theory, number theory, set theory, Ramsey theory, dynamical systems, and partial differential equations.
The usage of the term "mathematical physics" is sometimes idiosyncratic. Certain parts of mathematics that initially arose from the development of physics are not, in fact, considered parts of mathematical physics, while other closely related fields are. For example, ordinary differential equations and symplectic geometry are generally viewed ...
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimental tools to probe these phenomena. The advancement of science generally depends on the interplay ...
Equations. Mass number. A = (Relative) atomic mass = Mass number = Sum of protons and neutrons. N = Number of neutrons. Z = Atomic number = Number of protons = Number of electrons. A = Z + N {\displaystyle A=Z+N\,\!} Mass in nuclei. M'nuc = Mass of nucleus, bound nucleons. MΣ = Sum of masses for isolated nucleons.