Concepts: Particle
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New England Complex Systems Institute
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A particle (point object) is a system whose internal structure is not explicitly relevant to the properties described by the observer. The description of a particle consists of its position as a function of time (its trajectory) and quantities which characterise how it acts upon or is acted upon by the environment: mass, charge,... Other properties of the particle may be related to its trajectory (velocity, acceleration, ...) and mass (momentum, energy, ...).
Newton's Laws imply that the position and velocity of a particle at one time (the initial conditions), and the force exerted upon it by the environment as a function of time, are together sufficient to allow the trajectory to be obtained.
Related concepts: Observer-System Relationship, Newton's Laws, Scale
Copyright © 2011 Yaneer Bar-Yam All rights reserved.
New England Complex Systems Institute 238 Main Street Suite 319 Cambridge, MA 02142 Phone: 617-547-4100 Fax: 617-661-7711 Email: 
Copyright © 2000-2012 New England Complex Systems Institute. All rights reserved.