What You Should Know About Physics
Question: What Is Physics?
Answer:
Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy and how they interact with each other.
This energy can take the form of motion, light, electricity, radiation, gravity . . . just about anything, honestly. Physics deals with matter on scales ranging from sub-atomic particles (i.e. the particles that make up the atom and the particles that make up those particles) to stars and even entire galaxies.
How Physics Works
As an experimental science, physics utilizes the scientific method to formulate and test hypotheses that are based on observation of the natural world. The goal of physics is to use the results of these experiments to formulate scientific laws, usually expressed in the language of mathematics, which can then be used to predict other phenomena.The Role of Physics in Science
In a broader sense, physics can be seen as the most fundamental of the natural sciences. Chemistry, for example, can be viewed as a complex application of physics, as it focuses on the interaction of energy and matter in chemical systems. We also know that biology is, at its heart, an application of chemical properties in living things, which means that it is also, ultimately, ruled by the physical laws.Major Concepts in Physics
Because physics covers so much area, it is divided into several specific fields of study, such as electronics, quantum physics, astronomy, and biophysics.Why Is Physics (Or Any Science) Important?
- Why Study Physics?
- Grand Ideas of Science (adapted, with permission, from the book Why Science? by James Trefil)