In physics and engineering, kinetics is the branch of classical mechanics that is concerned with the relationship between the motion and its causes, specifically, forces and torques.
[1][2][3] Since the mid-20th century, the term "dynamics" (or "analytical dynamics") has largely superseded "kinetics" in physics textbooks,[4] though the term is still used in engineering.
In plasma physics, kinetics refers to the study of continua in velocity space.
These "kinetic plasmas" cannot be adequately described with fluid equations.
The term kinetics is also used to refer to chemical kinetics, particularly in chemical physics and physical chemistry.