Abstract
Confidence that we live in an orderly universe is at the heart of science. This confidence is continually reinforced by the fact that rough, simplified equations can actually predict the general behavior of complex macroscopic systems. Science does not have an exclusive claim on the search for pattern, but it is unique in its use of the symbols and concepts of mathematics to communicate the patterns found. | Of all the areas of physics, classical mechanics is perhaps the easiest in which to see the relationship between a mathematical form and the physical occurrence. The acceleration of a car on a curve can be felt, the eye records the trajectory of a football in the air. Classical mechanics has been formulated in great detail and serves as a cornerstone in the education of the physicist. For this reason, analogies drawn between other fields of physics and mechanical systems seem to be especially helpful.