Wednesday 12 March 2014

OFC 010. PHYSICS ---- FOUNDATION COURSE BY. MWL. JAPHET MASATU.

OFC 010. PHYSICS.

INTRODUCTION.

Physics, a branch of science, is the study of forces and their impacts on the environment. Modern physics connects ideas together about the laws of symmetry and conservation (energy, momentum, charge, and parity). The word physics comes from the Greek word ἡ φύσις "nature".

What is physics?

Physics is the study of energy and matter in space and time and how they are related to each other. Physicists assume the existence of mass, length, time and electric current and then define (give the meaning of) all other physical quantities in terms of these basic units. Mass, length, time, and electric current are never defined but the standard units used to measure them are always defined. In the International System of Units (abbreviated SI from the French Système International), the metre is the basic unit of length, the kilogram is the basic unit of mass, the second is the basic unit of time, the Ampere is the basic unit of electric current.
In addition to these four units, there are three other ones: the mole, which is the unit of the quantity of matter, the candela which measures the luminous intensity (the power of lighting) and the Kelvin, the unit of temperature.
Physics studies how things move, and the forces that make them move. For example, velocity and acceleration are used by physics to show how things move. Also, physicists study the forces of gravity, electricity, magnetism and the forces that hold things together.
Physics studies very large things, and very small things. For instance, physicists can study stars, planets and galaxies but could also study small pieces of matter, such as atoms and electrons.They may also study sound, light and other waves. As well as that, they could examine energy, heat and radioactivity, and even space and time. Physics not only helps people understand how objects move, but how they change form, how they make noise, how hot or cold they will be, and what they are made of at the smallest level.

Physics and Mathematics

Physics is a quantitative science because it is based on measuring with numbers. Maths is used in physics to make models that try to guess what will happen in nature. The guesses are compared to the way the real world works. Physicists are always working to make their models of the world better.

Advanced knowledge

General description

Physics is the science of matter and how matter interacts. Matter is any physical material in the universe. Everything is made of matter. Physics is used to describe the physical universe around us, and to predict how it will behave. Physics is the science concerned with the discovery and characterization of the universal laws which govern matter, movement and forces, and space and time, and other features of the natural world.

Breadth and goals of physics

The sweep of physics is broad, from the smallest components of matter and the forces that hold it together, to galaxies and even larger things. There are only four forces that appear to operate over this whole range. However, even these four forces (gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force associated with radioactivity, and the strong force which holds protons and neutrons in an atom together) are believed to be different parts of a single force.
Physics is mainly focused on the goal of making ever simpler, more general, and more accurate rules that define the character and behavior of matter and space itself. One of the major goals of physics is making theories that apply to everything in the universe. In other words, physics can be viewed as the study of those universal laws which define, at the most basic level possible, the behavior of the physical universe.

Physics uses the scientific method

Physics uses the scientific method. That is, data from experiments and observations are collected. Theories which attempt to explain these data are produced. Physics uses these theories to not only describe physical phenomena, but to model physical systems and predict how these physical systems will behave. Physicists then compare these predictions to observations or experimental evidence to show whether the theory is right or wrong.
The theories that are well supported by data and are especially simple and general are sometimes called scientific laws. Of course, all theories, including those known as laws, can be replaced by more accurate and more general laws, when a disagreement with data is found.^[1]

Physics is Quantitative

Physics is more quantitative than most other sciences. That is, many of the observations in physics may be represented in the form of numerical measurements. Most of the theories in physics use mathematics to express their principles. Most of the predictions from these theories are numerical. This is because of the areas which physics has addressed are more amenable to quantitative approaches than other areas. Sciences also tend to become more quantitative with time as they become more highly developed, and physics is one of the oldest sciences.

Fields of physics

Classical physics normally includes the fields of mechanics, optics, electricity, magnetism, acoustics and thermodynamics. Modern physics is a term normally used to cover fields which rely on quantum theory, including quantum mechanics, atomic physics, nuclear physics, particle physics and condensed matter physics, as well as the more modern fields of general and special relativity. Although this distinction can be found in older writings, it is of little recent interest as quantum effects are now understood to be of importance even in fields previously considered classical.^[2]

Approaches in physics

There are many approaches to studying physics, and many different kinds of activities in physics. There are two main types of activities in physics; the collection of data and the development of theories.
The data in some subfields of physics is amenable to experiment. For example, condensed matter physics and nuclear physics benefit from the ability to perform experiments. Experimental physics focuses mainly on an empirical approach. Sometimes experiments are done to explore nature, and in other cases experiments are performed to produce data to compare with the predictions of theories.
Some other fields in physics like astrophysics and geophysics are primarily observational sciences because most their data has to be collected passively instead of through experimentation. Nevertheless, observational programs in these fields uses many of the same tools and technology that are used in the experimental subfields of physics.
Theoretical physics often uses quantitative approaches to develop the theories that attempt to explain the data. In this way, theoretical physics often relies heavily on tools from mathematics. Theoretical physics often can involve creating quantitative predictions of physical theories, and comparing these predictions quantitatively with data. Theoretical physics sometimes creates models of physical systems before data is available to test and validate these models.
These two main activities in physics, data collection and theory production and testing, draw on many different skills. This has led to a lot of specialization in physics, and the introduction, development and use of tools from other fields. For example, theoretical physicists apply mathematics and numerical analysis and statistics and probability and computer software in their work. Experimental physicists develop instruments and techniques for collecting data, drawing on engineering and computer technology and many other fields of technology. Often the tools from these other areas are not quite appropriate for the needs of physics, and need to be adapted or more advanced versions have to be produced.

Physicists

There are many famous physicists. Isaac Newton studied gravity. Galileo Galilei studied light and how planets moved. Albert Einstein made a theory for how light can make electrons move, and studied how gravity affects light and space. James Clerk Maxwell proved that light is a type of electromagnetic wave.
Ernest Rutherford stated that "Physics is the only real science. The rest are just stamp collecting."