Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics that asks two questions about every moving body: how does it move? and why does it move that way? From a rolling ball to an orbiting planet, the same handful of principles describe them all.
Two Halves of Mechanics
Kinematics describes motion — position, velocity, and acceleration — without asking what causes it. Dynamics explains the causes, through forces, energy, and the laws that link them to motion.
The Path Through Mechanics
Section titled “The Path Through Mechanics”We build mechanics in layers. First comes the mathematical language of vectors, since position, velocity, and force all carry a direction. With that language in hand, we describe motion itself in kinematics, and later explain it with forces and energy. Each chapter leans on the one before it, so it is best read in order.