Questions and Answers
Who is considered a physicist?
Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines.
True
What is the Latin origin of the word 'physics'?
physica
Early civilizations had a predictive knowledge of the motions of the Sun, Moon, and stars, often worshipped as ______.
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Match the scientist with their contribution in optics:
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In which century did physics become a discipline distinct from philosophy and other sciences?
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Physics deals with a wide variety of systems, although certain theories are only used by specialized physicists.
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What is the branch of physics concerned with bodies acted on by forces and bodies in motion?
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The study of how sound is produced, controlled, transmitted, and received is called ________.
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Match the branch/topic of classical physics with its description:
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What is the standard consensus about the laws of physics?
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Physicists use the scientific method to test the validity of physical theories.
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What did the ancient Chinese observe about certain rocks?
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Particle physics is the study of the elementary constituents of matter and energy and the interactions between them. The interactions of elementary particles and fields are described by the ______.
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Match the following fields of physics with their descriptions:
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What is creating the ENA ribbon along the termination shock of the solar wind?
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What is one of the main areas of unsolved theoretical problems in condensed matter physics?
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The Large Hadron Collider has proved the existence of supersymmetry.
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The first pieces of experimental evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model involve the indications that neutrinos have non-zero ___.
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Match the following areas of ongoing research in physics with their descriptions:
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Study Notes
Physics: The Natural Science of Matter
- Physics involves the study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force.
- It is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines and one of the oldest academic disciplines.
Ancient Civilizations and Early Contributions
- Early civilizations, such as the Sumerians, ancient Egyptians, and the Indus Valley Civilisation, had a predictive knowledge of astronomy and a basic awareness of the motions of the Sun, Moon, and stars.
- The ancient Greeks, such as Thales, rejected non-naturalistic explanations for natural phenomena and proclaimed that every event had a natural cause.
- Aristotle's physics was not scrutinized until John Philoponus, a Byzantine scholar, questioned Aristotle's teaching of physics and noted its flaws.
Medieval European and Islamic Contributions
- In the sixth century, Isidore of Miletus created an important compilation of Archimedes' works.
- John Philoponus introduced the theory of impetus, which was a step toward the modern ideas of inertia and momentum.
- Islamic scholarship inherited Aristotelian physics from the Greeks and developed it further, placing emphasis on observation and a priori reasoning.
Aristotle's Physics
- Aristotle believed that each of the four classical elements (earth, fire, water, air) had its own natural place due to their differing densities.
- He stated that when a small amount of one element enters the natural place of another, the less abundant element will automatically go towards its own natural place.
- Aristotle called his metaphysics "first philosophy" and characterized it as the study of "being as being".
- He defined the paradigm of motion as a being or entity encompassing different areas in the same body.
Classical Physics
- Classical physics became a separate science when early modern Europeans used experimental and quantitative methods to discover what are now considered to be the laws of physics.
- Major developments in this period include the replacement of the geocentric model of the Solar System with the heliocentric Copernican model.
Modern Physics
- Modern physics began in the early 20th century with the work of Max Planck in quantum theory and Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
- Quantum mechanics would come to be pioneered by Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, and Paul Dirac.
- The Standard Model of particle physics was derived from this early work, and physics beyond the Standard Model is an active area of research.
Philosophy of Physics
- Physics stems from ancient Greek philosophy, and many physicists have written about the philosophical implications of their work.
- The development of physics has answered many questions of early philosophers and has raised new questions.
Core Theories
- Classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics, electromagnetism, and special relativity are the central theories in physics.
- Each of these theories was experimentally tested numerous times and found to be an adequate approximation of nature.
Branches of Physics
- Classical physics includes the traditional branches of mechanics, acoustics, optics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism.
- Modern physics is concerned with the behavior of matter and energy under extreme conditions or on a very large or very small scale.
Fundamental Concepts in Modern Physics
- The laws of classical physics accurately describe systems whose important length scales are greater than the atomic scale and whose motions are much slower than the speed of light.
- Quantum theory and the theory of relativity find applications in many areas of modern physics.### Relation to Other Fields
- Mathematics provides a compact and exact language to describe the order in nature, as noted by Pythagoras, Plato, Galileo, and Newton.
- The laws of logic express universal regularities found in the structural features of the world, which may explain the peculiar relation between mathematics and physics.
- Physics uses mathematics to organize and formulate experimental results, while mathematics is concerned with abstract patterns, even beyond the real world.
- Ontology is a prerequisite for physics, but not for mathematics, meaning physics is ultimately concerned with descriptions of the real world, while mathematics is concerned with abstract patterns.
Pure Physics
- Physics is a branch of fundamental science, also called basic science.
- Physics is also called "the fundamental science" because all branches of natural science like chemistry, astronomy, geology, and biology are constrained by laws of physics.
- Chemistry is often called the central science because of its role in linking the physical sciences.
Applied Physics
- Applied physics is a general term for physics research intended for a particular use.
- Applied physicists use physics in scientific research, aiming to develop new technologies or solve problems.
- Physics is used heavily in engineering, with applications in statics, acoustics, optics, and forensic investigations.
Research
- Physicists use the scientific method to test the validity of a physical theory.
- The scientific method involves a methodical approach to compare the implications of a theory with the conclusions drawn from its related experiments and observations.
- Experiments are performed and observations are made to determine the validity or invalidity of a theory.
- Scientific laws are concise verbal or mathematical statements of a relation that expresses a fundamental principle of a theory.
Scope and Aims
- Physics covers a wide range of phenomena, from elementary particles to the largest superclusters of galaxies.
- Physics aims to describe the various phenomena that occur in nature in terms of simpler phenomena.
- Physics hopes to find an ultimate reason (theory of everything) for why nature is as it is.
Research Fields
- Contemporary research in physics can be broadly divided into:
- Nuclear and particle physics
- Condensed matter physics
- Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
- Astrophysics
- Applied physics
- Each field has its own subfields, theories, and concepts.
Nuclear and Particle Physics
- Particle physics is the study of the elementary constituents of matter and energy and the interactions between them.
- The Standard Model describes the interactions of elementary particles and fields, including the Higgs boson.
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
- Atomic, molecular, and optical physics studies the interactions of matter and light on the scale of single atoms and molecules.
- The three areas are grouped together because of their interrelationships, the similarity of methods used, and the commonality of their relevant energy scales.
Condensed Matter Physics
- Condensed matter physics deals with the macroscopic physical properties of matter.
- It is concerned with the "condensed" phases that appear whenever the number of particles in a system is extremely large and the interactions between them are strong.
Astrophysics
- Astrophysics is the application of the theories and methods of physics to the study of stellar structure, stellar evolution, the origin of the Solar System, and related problems of cosmology.
- Astrophysicists apply many disciplines of physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics.
Current Research
- Research in physics is continually progressing on a large number of fronts, including:
- Condensed matter physics
- Particle physics
- Astrophysics
- Complex systems and chaos theory
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Description
Explore the basics of physics, a natural science that studies matter, its constituents, motion, and behavior. Learn about the fundamental concepts of physics and the role of physicists.
