Article
Article
Minimal principles
Article By:
Williams, Dudley Formerly, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.426300
In the treatment of physical phenomena, it can sometimes be shown that, of all the processes or conditions which might occur, the ones actually occurring are those for which some characteristic physical quantity assumes a minimum value. These processes or conditions are known as minimal principles. The application of minimal principles provides a powerful method of attacking certain problems that would otherwise prove formidable if approached directly from first principles.
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