What the mechanics studies: what you need to know

Do you like physics and would you like to know what the mechanics are studying?

Are you thinking of enrolling in an engineering degree course and want to familiarize yourself with the subject to see if it can align with your professional inclinations and ambitions?

Since it is a fascinating and complex discipline at the same time we suggest you take a look at this post.

we will explain to you how mechanics work , what are the foundations on which it is based and how many are the branches into which it is divided.

What is mechanics
Before analyzing what the mechanics studies we try to get familiar with the subject through the definition provided by the Treccani site:

“Science that studies the movement and balance of bodies. It is traditionally divided into three parts: kinematics, dynamics and static, which study, respectively, motion regardless of its causes, motion in relation to the causes that determine it and the balance of bodies. “

In other words, in physics, mechanics is the science that studies the motion of bodies and the causes that determine it .
It is conventionally divided into three parts: kinematic, dynamic and static. Let’s analyze them in detail.

The kinematic study motion regardless of the causes that generated it.

The dynamics studies the motion and the causes that generated it.
It is based on three laws:

1st law of dynamics or principle of inertia
If external forces do not act on a body or a system of forces acts in equilibrium, the body persists in its state of stillness or uniform straight motion.

2nd law of the dynamics or fundamental principle of the dynamics
If on a body acts a force, or a system of forces, it accelerates; the resulting force applied to the body is directly proportional to the acceleration and shares its direction and direction.
The acceleration is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass.

3rd law of dynamics or principle of action-reaction
If two bodies interact with each other, two forces develop, commonly called action and reaction: as vector quantities they are equal in form and direction, but opposite in verse.

The static studies the balance of the body, or in cases where the forces are balanced. Balance can be static, so the body remains stationary, or dynamic, when the body moves in a uniform motion.

The fundamental dimensions of science are space , time , mass and strength .

Space is essential to define the position of a point, positioned within a reference system.Time is required for the definition of a sequence of events.Mass is essential to measure the resistance of bodies to changes in their motion.Strength is the basic concept of dynamics; it indicates the direct or distant action of one body over another and is divided into three types: weight force (attracts the bodies towards the center of the earth), elastic force (generated by the deformation of bodies which then return to their original form) and centripetal force (causes the bodies to move along a circular trajectory).