Why Study Physics?

For two reasons:

1. Physics is one of the most fundamental of the sciences.

     a. Scientists of all majors make use of the ideas of physics.

              • Chemists study the structure of molecules

              • Paleontologists reconstruct how dinosaurs walked

     b. The principles of physics play an essential role in our daily life.

              • How human activities affect the atmosphere and oceans

              • Search for alternative sources of energy

     c. Physics is also the foundation of all engineering and technology.

           No engineer could design any kind of practical devices

              • a DVD player

              • a flat screen TV

              • an interplanetary spacecraft

           without first understanding the basic laws of physics

2. The study of physics is an adventure.

              • It is challenging

              • Sometimes frustrating

              • Occasionally painful

              • Often rewarding and satisfying

Our physical world has been built by scientific giants:

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei

1564-1642

A Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism.  Of all of his telescope discoveries, he is perhaps most known for his discovery of the four most massive moons of Jupiter, now known as the Galilean moons: Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. When NASA sent a mission to Jupiter in the 1990s, it was called Galileo in honor of the famed astronomer.

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Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton

1643-1727

An English mathematician, astronomer, theologian, author and physicist (described in his own day as a "natural philosopher") who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time, and a key figure in the scientific revolution.  Besides his work on universal gravitation (gravity), Newton developed the three laws of motion which form the basic principles of modern physics. His discovery of calculus led the way to more powerful methods of solving mathematical problems.

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James Clerk Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell

1831-1879

A Scottish scientist in the field of mathematical physics.  His most notable achievement was to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism have been called the "second great unification in physics" after the first one realised by Isaac Newton.  Writing equations for electromagnetism. Later known as Maxwell's equations.  The concept of the electromagnetic field, which was later worked on by Albert Einstein, leading to his theory of special relativity.

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Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

1879-1955

A German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics).  His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.  He is best known to the general public for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation".  He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory.

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Questions:

  •  Why the sky is blue?
  • How radio can travel through empty space?
  • How a satellite stays in orbit?

           

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