Liouville’s theorem and the foundation of classical mechanics

  • A. Henriksson
Keywords: information, determinism, Liouville’s theorem, Hamilton’s equations, Hamilton’s principle

Abstract

In this article, it is suggested that a pedagogical point of departure in the teaching of classical mechanics is the Liouville’s theorem. The theorem is interpreted to define the condition that describes the conservation of information in classical mechanics. The Hamilton’s equations and the Hamilton’s principle of the least action are derived from the Liouville’s theorem.

Published
2022-07-12
Section
Mathematical and Computational Physics