Re:What situations in classical physics are non-deterministic?
by Certhas on Saturday February 15, 2025 @12:33PM
(#43060339)
Nitpick: Indicate it can. Not that it will.
Re:What situations in classical physics are non-deterministic?
by ajross on Saturday February 15, 2025 @12:34PM
(#43060343)
> But the Newtonian laws of physics indicate it will.
Pedantically: they indicate it can. The situation where the ball spontaneously starts rolling[1] at any specific moment in time, without any application of force or interaction with any other part of the system, are perfectly legal and well-defined by the laws of motion. They just can't be predicted determinically.
[1] FWIW it's not even a ball in this case, as the rotational mechanics of a sphere with non-zero moment of inertia would destroy the very carefully constructed function required for the potential energy field.
Considering they were replying to a post that was, effectively, arguing "nuh uh!", their response seems reasonable.
> Explain, what makes the ball suddenly start rolling down the dome?
That's _literally_ the entire point. Nothing does. There is nothing that causes the ball to start rolling. But the Newtonian laws of physics indicate it will.