Frederic P Miller

Classical Field Theory Frederic P Miller

Publisher Marketing: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A classical field theory is a physical theory that describes the study of how one or more physical fields interact with matter. The word 'classical' is used in contrast to those field theories that incorporate quantum mechanics (quantum field theories). A physical field can be thought of as the assignment of a physical quantity at each point of space and time (usually in a continuous manner). For example, on weather forecasts, the wind velocity during a day over a country is described by assigning a vector at each point of space (with moving arrows representing the change in wind velocity during the day). From the mathematical viewpoint, classical fields are described by sections of fiber bundles (covariant classical field theory). The term 'classical field theory' is commonly reserved for describing those physical theories that describe electromagnetism and gravitation, two of the fundamental forces of nature. Descriptions of physical fields were given before the advent of relativity theory and then revised in light of this theory. Consequently, classical field theories are usually categorised as non-relativistic and relativistic.