mechanics

me·chan·ic   (mĭ-kān'ĭk)    n.  A worker skilled in making, using, or repairing machines, vehicles, and tools. [From Middle English, mechanical, from Old French mecanique, from Latin mēchanicus, from Greek mēkhanikos, from mēkhanē, machine, device; see magh- in Indo-European roots.] me·chan'ic adj.

Mechanics

Me*chan"ics\, n. [Cf. F. m['e]canique.] That science, or branch of applied mathematics, which treats of the action of forces on bodies.

Note: That part of mechanics which considers the action of forces in producing rest or equilibrium is called statics; that which relates to such action in producing motion is called dynamics. The term mechanics includes the action of forces on all bodies, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous. It is sometimes, however, and formerly was often, used distinctively of solid bodies only: The mechanics of liquid bodies is called also hydrostatics, or hydrodynamics, according as the laws of rest or of motion are considered. The mechanics of gaseous bodies is called also pneumatics. The mechanics of fluids in motion, with special reference to the methods of obtaining from them useful results, constitutes hydraulics.

Animal mechanics (Physiol.), that portion of physiology which has for its object the investigation of the laws of equilibrium and motion in the animal body. The most important mechanical principle is that of the lever, the bones forming the arms of the levers, the contractile muscles the power, the joints the fulcra or points of support, while the weight of the body or of the individual limbs constitutes the weight or resistance.

Applied mechanics, the principles of abstract mechanics applied to human art; also, the practical application of the laws of matter and motion to the construction of machines and structures of all kinds.

mechanics

The branch of physics that deals with the motion of material objects. The term mechanics generally refers to the motion of large objects, whereas the study of motion at the level of the atom or smaller is the domain of quantum mechanics.

Note: The basic laws of mechanics are Newton's laws of motion.

Main Entry: me·chan·ics
Pronunciation: mi-'kan-iks
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
: a branch of physical sciencethat deals with energy and forces and their effect on material bodies

mechanics me·chan·ics (mĭ-kān'ĭks)
n.

1. The branch of physics concerned with the analysis of the action of forces on matter or material systems.
2. The design, construction, and use of machinery or of mechanical structures.
3. The functional and technical aspects of an activity.

mechanics   (mĭ-kān'ĭks)  Pronunciation Key  The branch of physics concerned with the relationships between matter, force, and energy, especially as they affect the motion of objects. See also classical physics, quantum mechanics. The functional aspect of a system, such as the mechanics of blood circulation.