Towards the Unity of Classical Physics. With Some Implications for Quantum Physics

Usually, classical mechanics (CM) and classical electromagnetism (CEM) are represented in textbooks as well as in monographs and, thus, are taught as would‐be rather unrelated branches. This ‘duality view’ corresponds to the historical development, but discards the axiomatic power of CM and leaves the unity of classical physics incomplete. To overcome this, I will derive the Lorentz force and the Maxwell‐Lorentz equations through purely mechanical reasoning, viz, exploring relationships between force and energy. This way, the first sevedn of Bopp’s postulates can be actually derived. This approach continues Hertz’s program of representing CM such, that other branches can be developed from it, and corresponds to Schrödinger’s (1926) approach to quantum mechanics. The fields introduced develop their own live beyond CM, so that reductionism is avoided.