A question about physics.

[Eman645]

So, what is physics, why do we need physics and why is physics good?

 

[SckizoBoy]

'A' question he says...

In any event... can't... tell... if... serious.

Whatever... enjoy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics].

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Physics is the study of how objects move, to put it as bluntly as possible, and if you want any of the modern tech we take for granted we need it. See, without a good knowledge of physics, building a car engine that ran worth a damn would be pure dumb luck, aircraft wouldn't exist at all, and trains would still be big, lumbering, coal-fired behemoths.

basically this, i can't remember my teachers definition a long time ago, but it was along the lines of

" the study/observation of energy and motion involving mass"


something like that.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Quick! How do you stop the asteroid hurtling towards Earth? Physics *****!

But in all seriousness it's necessary in order to do everything from develop all kinds of vehicles to building sky scrapers.

 

[Zantos]

Physics is, to put it bluntly and underrate it in a way that almost hurts, a study of matter, energy and forces. Basically it's the fundamental building blocks of reality, from which all (ideally all, if it was all we would stop) physical events can be understood with simple models and theories.

Why do we need? Well skipping out the vast number of philosophical and advancement of humanity stuff which I'm in it for, let's go with this approach. Do you own a mobile phone? or an mp3 player, computer, broadband internet connection, TV, electric lighting? All of that wouldn't have been possilbe without physics making advancements in optics, electromagnetic theory, condensed matter, electric currents, and many other fields. Most of that was done in the past 100 years. Electric lighting, a little longer, maybe 200. Give us another 100 years and see what sort of stuff can happen.

Why is physics good? Well it depends on what the definition of good is. If you're asking why it's good as a research field then I guess it's because of all the things listed above and many more. Why is it good as a subject to study is a little more difficult. As someone who enjoys it I'd say because it's interesting, but if you don't like it to study there are some advantages. For instance, it isn't subjective, there's no ambiguity. In an exam if you write down the right formulas and follow them through you get all the marks, despite what the examiner thinks about what you've done. It's very conceptual, most areas of physics require little more than a bit of relatively simple maths and the ability to visualise the situation in order to solve the problems. Note the clarifier 'most', general relativity, quantum field theory, gauge theory and string theory are examples of fields that require more than that, but these are masters level or higher studies for people who don't need to ask questions like "why is it good?"

 

[Wise_Smiling_Panda]

Mass and Energy. Always remember that. Well, technically they are interchangeably according to a certain fella' named Einstein who figured out what the relationship between mass and energy is...but for most purposes, the answers above should be sufficient. If you want a more specific example: physics allows us to calculate the theoretical flight path of a projectile. Physical principles allows us to calculate how much heat may be transferred through a certain material with a known geometric properties. Physics also includes electromagnetic physics - which contains the principles needed to understand the motion of electrons in a conductor and various other circuit elements. So yeah...lots of cool stuff.

 

[Filiecs]

We need physics so that we can exist. Nuff said.

We need the study of physics so that we know HOW we exist.

 

[nothingspringstomind]

Physics is what makes the universe work, basically and we study physics to understand how the universe (multiverse?) works.

It's goooooood candy.

 

[Eman645]

Thanks you all. I lol'd to WouldYouKindly's post.