Mechanics
From EvoWiki
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with forces, motion, and their relationships to each other; it is also concerned with potential and kinetic energy and work.
Mechanics is the earliest branch of physics, and deals with the most everyday phenomena. For example, it explains why a stone, held in the air and suddenly released, will fall; it also explains how fast the stone will fall. Friction, levers, wheels, and planetary motion all come under the realm of mechanics.
Strictly speaking, the behavoiours of electrons, nucleons, and various subatomic particles would also come under the realm of mechanics; however, at this point, it is helpful to differentiate between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics. Classical mechanics uses relatively simple mathematics to explain the behaviour of macroscopic objects. Quantum mechanics is much more abstract, and deals primarily with subatomic particles. The laws of quantum mechanics also hold true for classical mechanics, but the mathematics of quantum mechanics are much harder to apply, and so classical mechanics is used for all almost practical applications.
