Physics Introduction

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Physics Introduction
What is physics?
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Physics applies scientific methodologies to
understand the most fundamental principles of
nature matter and energy, and how they interact.
it is about finding things out - about
understanding what lies behind every-day
phenomena like rainbows, red sunsets and blue
skies as well as the more revolutionary concepts
of quantum theory, relativity and cosmology.

• Physics is the foundation of all the physical
• sciences such as chemistry, material science,
  and geology
• and is important for many other fields of human
  endeavor
• biology, medicine, computing, ice hockey,
  televisionthe list
• goes on and on.

A physicist usually specializes within one area
of physics, though many disciplines overlap.
Below are a few examples of the different areas
of physics, with very general definitions
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• Acoustics - the study of sound sound waves
• Astronomy - the study of space
• Astrophysics - the study of the physical
  properties of objects in space
• Atomic Physics - the study of atoms, specifically
  the electron properties of the atom
• Biophysics - the study of physics in living
  systems
• Chaos - the study of systems with strong
  sensitivity to initial conditions, so a slight
  change at the beginning quickly become major
  changes in the system
• Chemical Physics - the study of physics in
  chemical systems
• Computational Physics - the application of
  numerical methods to solve physical problems for
  which a quantitative theory already exists
• Condensed-matter physics - the study of the
  properties of matter in solid and liquid states
• Cosmology - the study of the universe as a whole,
  including its origins and evolution

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• Cryophysics / Cryogenics / Low Temperature
  Physics - the study of physical properties in low
  temperature situations, far below the freezing
  point of water
• Crystallography - the study of crystals and
  crystalline structures
• Electromagnetism - the study of electrical and
  magnetic fields, which are two aspects of the
  same phenomenon
• Electronics - the study of the flow of electrons,
  generally in a circuit
• Fluid Dynamics / Fluid Mechanics - the study of
  the physical properties of "fluids," specifically
  defined in this case to be liquids and gases
• Geophysics - the study of the physical properties
  of the Earth
• High Energy Physics - the study of physics in
  extremely high energy systems, generally within
  particle physics
• High Pressure Physics - the study of physics in
  extremely high pressure systems, generally
  related to fluid dynamics
• Laser Physics - the study of the physical
  properties of lasers

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• Mathematical Physics - applying mathematically
  rigorous methods to solving problems within
  physics
• Mechanics the study of the motion of bodies in
  a frame of reference
• Meteorology / Weather Physics - the physics of
  the weather
• Molecular Physics - the study of physical
  properties of molecules
• Nanotechnology - the science of building circuits
  and machines from single molecules and atoms
• Nuclear Physics - the study of the physical
  properties of the atomic nucleus
• Optics / Light Physics - the study of the
  physical properties of light
• Particle Physics - the study of fundamental
  particles (quarks )and the forces of their
  interaction
• Plasma Physics - the study of matter in the
  plasma phase
• Quantum Electrodynamics - the study of how
  electrons and photons interact at the quantum
  mechanical level

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• Quantum Mechanics / Quantum Physics - the study
  of science where the smallest discrete values, or
  quanta, of matter and energy become relevant
• Quantum Optics - the application of quantum
  physics to light
• Quantum Field Theory - the application of quantum
  physics to fields, including the fundamental
  forces of the universe
• Quantum Gravity - the application of quantum
  physics to gravity and unification of gravity
  with the other fundamental particle interactions
• Relativity - the study of systems displaying the
  properties of Einstein's theory of relativity,
  which generally involves moving at speeds very
  close to the speed of light
• Statistical Mechanics - the study of large
  systems by statistically expanding the knowledge
  of smaller systems
• String Theory / Superstring Theory - the study of
  the theory that all fundamental particles are
  vibrations of one-dimensional strings of energy,
  in a higher-dimensional universe
• Thermodynamics - the physics of heat

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Eight Reasons Why No Student Should Go Through
High School Without Taking Physics

• The significant advantages of taking high school
  physics is one of the best kept secrets in
  American education. For most students physics is
  challenging and many lack the confidence to
  attempt the class. Those students fortunate
  enough to attend a high school with a strong
  physics program should make every effort to take
  advantage of it for the following reasons

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• 1. Most modern technology came from physics. Any
  technology involving electricity, magnetism,
  mechanics, heat, light, sound, optics, etc. comes
  from physics. Even though the basic knowledge
  required to discover fertilizers, drugs,
  plastics, and chemicals comes from chemistry and
  in some cases biology, all of these items have to
  be manufactured, and manufacturing is dominated
  by physics-based technology.
• 2. Most branches of sciences contain principles
  obtained from physics. Like technology, it is
  hard to find a branch of science which does not
  contain some physics-related aspect such as
  electricity, magnetism, mechanics, heat, light,
  sound, optics, etc. Chemistry in particular
  becomes indistinguishable from physics when
  delving into the atomic model. Physics has been
  called the most basic science and in many cases
  it is required in order to understand concepts in
  other sciences.
• 3. Physics classes can help polish the skills
  needed to score well on the SAT. Physics classes
  provide practice in both algebra and geometry.
  These are the types of mathematics which are most
  likely to occur on the SAT. However, physics is
  not a math class. To understand the concepts of
  physics students have to use analogies. To work
  physics problems, students must be able to read
  and comprehend short paragraphs packed with
  information. Physics develops both math and
  verbal skills.
• 4. College recruiters recognize the value of
  physics classes. College recruiters tend to be
  favorably impressed by transcripts containing
  challenging classes like physics. They know it is
  relatively easy to attain a high GPA by taking a
  light course load. Success in high school physics
  is considered a sign of academic maturity and
  ability. Some technically oriented college
  programs will deny entrance to students who have
  not taken high school physics.

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• 5. College success for virtually all science,
  computer, engineering, and premedical majors
  depends on passing physics. College level physics
  is a required course for all of these majors.
  Engineering is almost entirely applied physics.
  Pre-medicine majors are typically required to
  take the same number of physics as biology
  classes! Also, about 25 of the science knowledge
  required for the MCAT (Medical College Admission
  Test) is based on physics. College physics
  courses for freshman often have 200 or more
  students in them and can be impersonal. They move
  at a fast pace and have a high failure rate. Some
  colleges will not allow a student to take college
  level physics unless they have had high school
  physics. Studies (ref 2,4) indicate that a high
  quality high school physics course helps
  significantly reduce the failure rate in
  college-level physics. These studies suggest that
  students with a high school physics course score
  on average about one letter grade higher in
  college physics than students with no high school
  physics background. Students themselves typically
  indicate that high school physics is a
  significant factor in their ability to handle
  college-level physics material.
• 6. Physics classes hone thinking skills. Physics
  is about the only high school-level class which
  requires both mathematical and verbal skills. All
  problems in physics are word problems which
  require students to think logically, use
  analogies, and deal with subtle shades of
  meaning. Passing scores in AP (Advanced
  Placement) calculus correlate with high PSAT math
  scores. Passing scores in AP literature courses
  correlate with high PSAT verbal scores. AP
  physics is the only AP course where passing
  scores correlate with both high verbal and high
  math PSAT scores. Physics courses teach students
  to think and this is a valuable skill apart from
  the knowledge content of physics. For instance
  the law school entrance exam LSAT requires no
  particular content knowledge, however, about 67
  of an applicant's score depends on answering
  logical reasoning and logic game questions.

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• 7. The job market for people with skills in
  physics is strong. Engineers are applied
  physicists and comprise the second largest
  profession in America (second only to teaching)
  with about 1.4 million members. By comparison,
  there are about 500 thousand medical doctors and
  only around 100 thousand biologists. However,
  even medical doctors and most biologists have to
  take college-level physics courses. Knowledge of
  physics is a prerequisite for many forms of
  employment.
• 8. A knowledge of physics is needed to understand
  music, art, and literature. Physics is the
  science which deals with sound. It is impossible
  to understand how instruments work or to build a
  theory of music without resorting to physics.
  Einstein, for instance, was an accomplished
  violinist. Physics is also the science of light.
  What could be more basic to an understanding of
  art? Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great
  artist but also an outstanding physicist. He was
  one of the first physicists to develop a wave
  theory of light. Clearly physicists have been
  influenced by literary figures. The physics term
  quark was taken from James Joyce and the term
  boojaums from Lewis Carroll (ref 12). By the same
  token, many commonly used expressions in our
  everyday language come from physics. These
  include quantum leap, free fall, light years,
  black holes, resonance, and being on the same
  wave length. Many authors have used allusions to
  physics in their literary works. William
  Faulkner, for instance, used the symbolism of
  time dilation in The Sound and the Fury. John
  Updike and a host of other poets have used
  physics metaphors in their work. The arts and
  humanities cannot be fully understood without
  some background in physics.