Classical mechanics without determinism

H. Nikolic

Published 2005-05-19, updated 2006-07-12Version 3

Classical statistical particle mechanics in the configuration space can be represented by a nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Even without assuming the existence of deterministic particle trajectories, the resulting quantum-like statistical interpretation is sufficient to predict all measurable results of classical mechanics. In the classical case, the wave function that satisfies a linear equation is positive, which is the main source of the fundamental difference between classical and quantum mechanics.