A remark on the conception of a body in continuum mechanics. (March 2015) - Casey, James
It is argued that the concept of body, as it is usually employed in continuum mechanics, is somewhat too general. Specifically, it is standard practice to associate a set of dynamical processes with an abstract body. However, many of these processes cannot be experienced by any physical body. Yet, Euler's laws for the balance of linear momentum and angular momentum are asserted to hold for such abstract bodies. It is suggested here that Euler's laws should be postulated only for abstract bodies that are composed of ideal materials belonging to some large collection.