History of variational principles in physics involves integrals over an interval of time and (for fields) extended region of space. Moreover, in the usual formulation of classical action principles, the initial and final states of the system are fixed, e.g., In particular, the fixing of the "final" state appears to give the action principle a teleological character which has been controversial historically. This apparent teleology is eliminated in the quantum mechanical version of the action principle. History of variational principles in physics A variational principle in physics is an alternative method for determining the state or dynamics of a physical system, by identifying it as an
The Theoretical Minimum was published in 2017. This covers Special Relativity and Classical Field Theory Lectures in the remaining three courses, on are available on-line as video recordings. Further lecture courses in the Theoretical Minimum series have been delivered by Prof. Susskind, on and these are also available on-line as video recordings. The Theoretical Minimum The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics () is a popular science book by Leonard Susskind and George Hrabovsky. The book was initially published on January 29, 2013 by Basic Books. The book is a mathematical introduction to various theoretical physics concepts, such