Fundamentals of Physics

The word physics comes from the Latin physica ('study of nature'), which itself is a borrowing of the Greek φυσική (phusikḗ 'natural science'), a term derived from φύσις (phúsis 'origin, nature, property').

These advances led directly to the development of new products that have dramatically transformed modern-day society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances, and nuclear weapons.

Advances in thermodynamics led to the development of industrialization.

Advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus.

Early civilizations dating before 3000 BCE, such as the Sumerians and ancient Egyptians, were involved in the study of astronomy.

The most notable property of a magnet is a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials and attracts or repels other magnets.

A permanent magnet is an object made from a material that is magnetized and creates its own persistent magnetic field.

Iron, nickel, and cobalt are examples of ferromagnetic materials.

Magnetically 'soft' materials, like annealed iron, can be magnetized but do not tend to stay magnetized.

Magnetically 'hard' materials tend to stay magnetized once they are magnetized.