The Most Important Idea in Physics: The Principle of Least Action - Ask a Spaceman!

Full podcast episodes: http://www.askaspaceman.com Support: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter Follow: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter and http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter What makes the principle of least action so important? Who came up with it? Is it all just a bunch of math or does it actually mean something? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Follow all the show updates at http://www.askaspaceman.com, and help support the show at http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter! Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Music by Jason Grady and Nick Bain. 00:24 - Lagrangian vs. Newtonian Mechanics 05:49 - The Stationary Action 10:30 - Generating the Laws of Motion 14:49 - Feynman’s Path Integral Approach