Classical mechanics is a foundational physical theory explaining the motion of objects ranging from projectiles to planets and galaxies. Its initial formulation, known as Newtonian mechanics, stemmed from the 17th-century works of Sir Isaac Newton, along with mathematical contributions from figures like Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Leonhard Euler. The 18th and 19th centuries saw further development into analytical mechanics by scientists such as Joseph-Louis Lagrange and William Rowan Hamilton, which introduced energy-based methods to describe motion.
Although highly accurate for everyday phenomena, classical mechanics has limitations: it is superseded by quantum mechanics at atomic scales, and by special or general relativity for objects approaching the speed of light or those that are extremely massive. The field traditionally encompasses branches like statics (objects in equilibrium), kinematics (describing motion), and dynamics (explaining motion with forces), or can be categorized by its force-based (Newtonian) versus energy-based (analytical) mathematical formalisms.