What does mechanics mean?

Answer 1

Mechanics means "one thing follows another in a logical chain". Mechanics is not a physical term in the first place, but a logical term. When something happens, it has consequences, and the joint event of both is addressed as of "mechanical nature". So, the study of anything that involves learning in-depth the knowledge of the intimate behavior of something is known as the mechanics of said something.

In Physics, Mechanics is, again, the study of the intimate behavior, of phenomena involving all of the existent. Classical Mechanics is both a specific subject and a general scope for the study of Physics; it get in-depth in the study of solid objets (Solid Mechanics) in both their stages of rest (Statics) and movement (Dynamics), with special interest in the behavior involving motion (Kinematics) and energy (Kinetics). Later on, all these concepts are reapplied for the study of non-solid matter: fluids, hence called Fluid Mechanics (which has two clear branches: the branch that studies the behavior of liquids - Hydraulics, and the one that studies the behavior of gases - Pneumatics). The latter subject is intimately bonded with the study of mechanics of energy, especially regarding heat (Thermodynamics). There are many other subjects dubbed with the term Mechanics, and all of them share the common factor of studying the intimate behavior of a given phenomenon.

In Engineering, Mechanics involves the application of techiques, all born in Physics, in a quite many fields. Solid Mechanics, Fluid & Thermodynamics, Optics, Materials Mechanics, Hydraulics, Pneumatics; are some of the examples covered.

As a technique, the term is usually addressed to activities involving the use and maintenance of machinery. Automotive mechanics, which is the work done in the car shops, is usually abbreviated to "mechanics" as an idiom. Industrial mechanics is the activity that involves using, repairing and tooling industrial machinery, especially when speaking of metal-mechanical machinery (lathes, presses, forges, etc.), this is, where the prime matters to be worked over are metals; but it can also apply to activities where prime matters are not metals, like plastics and wood. The work with machinery for construction and moving earth businesses is not usually addressed as industrial mechanics, though many of the activities involved certainly fit in the term.