Action (physics)

Action (physics)

In physics, action is an attribute of the dynamics of a physical system. It is a mathematical functional which takes the trajectory, also called path or history, of the system as its argument and has a real number as its result. Generally, the action takes different values for different paths. Action has the dimensions of •, and its SI unit is joule•second. This is the same units as angular momentum.

Read more about Action (physics):  Introduction, History, Mathematical Definition, Euler–Lagrange Equations For The Action Integral

Famous quotes containing the word action:

    There has never been in history another such culture as the Western civilization M a culture which has practiced the belief that the physical and social environment of man is subject to rational manipulation and that history is subject to the will and action of man; whereas central to the traditional cultures of the rivals of Western civilization, those of Africa and Asia, is a belief that it is environment that dominates man.
    Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)