Ab initio

[Gregb26]

We say quantum physics and classical physics are ab initio models because all the things we can observe in nature (within the framework of a given model) are perfectly described by these models and the their starting point cannot be further reduced to more fundamental concepts. For example, in classical mechanics the starting point is Newton’s laws, and in quantum mechanics it is Scrödinger’s equation. There is no need for anything more fundamental.

For this reason, classical electromagnetism is an ab initio model and its first principles are Maxwell’s equations.

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