An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Physics not taking into account → quantum mechanics or Einstein’s → relativity theory. Classical physics includes the branches developed before the beginning of the 20th cantury: Mechanics, Acoustics, Optics, Thermodynamics, and Electricity and Magnetism. Most of classical physics is concerned with matter and energy on the normal scale of observation.

See also: → classical; → physics.