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Concept of Physics
Santosh Kumar Jha

Educo International India Pvt. Ltd.

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CH-1(L-1) Science Etymological Meaning Science comes from the Latin verb Scientia, which means to know. Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. In an older and closely related meaning science refers to the body of reliable knowledge itself, of the type that can be logically and rationally explained. Origin Science is as old as the human species. From the 16th century onwards, great strides were made in science in Europe. By the middle of the twentieth century, science had become a truly international enterprise, with many cultures and countries contributing to its rapid growth. Definition Science is a systematic way of acquiring knowledge about the surroundings by careful observations and experimentations over a period of time. Science is exploring, experimenting and predicting from what we see around us.

Steps Involved in a Standard Scientific Method

Systematic observation Controlled experiments Qualitative reasoning Quantitative reasoning Mathematical modeling Prediction Verification or falsification of theories

Nature of Science Science is ever dynamic. There is no final theory in science.

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Modifications can be made in the established scientific laws. For example, when Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) examined the extensive data on planetary motion collected by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), the planetary circular orbits in heliocentric theory (sun at the centre of the solar system) imagined by Nicolas Copernicus (14731543) had to be replaced by elliptical orbits to fit the data better. Physics Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through space-time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves. Etymological meaning: Comes from a Greek word meaning nature. Its Sanskrit equivalent is Bhautiki that is used to refer to the study of the physical world. Scope of Physics

Branches of Physics

Mechanics Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with (or concerned with the motion of particles, rigid and deformable bodies, and general systems of particles) the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment.

Electrodynamics Classical electromagnetism (or classical electrodynamics) is a branch of theoretical physics that studies consequences of the electromagnetic forces between electric charges and currents. Simply we can say that it deals with electric and magnetic phenomena associated with charged and magnetic bodies.

Optics

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Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves exhibit similar properties.

Thermodynamics Thermodynamics is the branch of physical science concerned with heat and its relation to other forms of energy and work. It defines macroscopic variables (such as temperature, entropy, and pressure) that describe average properties of material bodies and radiation, and explains how they are related and by what laws they change with time. Thermodynamics does not describe the microscopic constituents of matter. Thermodynamics, in contrast to mechanics, does not deal with the motion of bodies as a whole. Rather, it deals with systems in macroscopic equilibrium and is concerned with changes in internal energy, temperature, entropy, etc., of the system through external work and transfer of heat. Scope Explains every phenomena occurring in nature on the basis of established rules. Involves the study of phenomena at the very small scales of subatomic level as well as the phenomena involving very large measurements. For example, we can say that it covers a tremendous range of magnitude of physical quantities like length, mass, time, energy, etc. At one end, it studies phenomena at the very small scale of length (10-14 m or even less) involving electrons, protons, etc.; at the other end, it deals with astronomical phenomena at the scale of galaxies or even the entire universe whose extent is of the order of 1026 m. The two length scales differ by a factor of 1040 or even more. The range of time scales can be obtained by dividing the length scales by the speed of light: 1022 s to 1018 s. The range of masses goes from, say, 1030 kg (mass of an electron) to 1055 kg (mass of known observable universe). Terrestrial phenomena lie somewhere in the middle of this range.

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Applications in Society

Physics and technology are related to each other. Both have a direct impact on society. Technology is the application of the principles of physics for practical purposes. Physics acts on behalf of and, hopefully, to the benefit of mankind. The modern developments in physics have catered to fulfill the needs of society and make their life styles more comfortable. The developments of radio, television, satellites and means of transport have helped the society.

Fundamental Forces in Nature

Physics has revealed that all the forces occurring in different contexts arise from a few fundamental forces in nature. These fundamental forces are as follows: o Gravitational forces
o o o

Weak nuclear forces Electromagnetic forces Strong nuclear forces

Gravitational Forces

Proposed by Newton. Force of mutual attraction is directly proportional to the product of the masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the separation between them. Weakest forces in nature. It is a universal force. Every object experiences this force due to every other object in the universe. All objects on the earth, for example, experience the force of gravity due to the earth. In particular, gravity governs the motion of the moon and artificial satellites around the earth, motion of the earth and planets around the sun, and, of course, the motion of bodies falling to the earth.

Weak Nuclear Forces

Discovered during the study of the phenomenon of -decay in radioactivity

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These are the forces of interaction between elementary particles of short life times. About 1025 times stronger than gravitational forces

Electromagnetic Forces

Forces between charged particles. The moving charges produce magnetic effects. Electric and magnetic effects are inseparable; hence, the term electromagnetic. These forces may be attractive or repulsive. Like the gravitational force, Electromagnetic force acts over large distances and does not need any intervening medium. It is enormously strong compared to gravity. Electrostatic forces are 1036 times stronger than gravitational forces. Electromagnetic forces operate over small distances. Matter, as we know, consists of elementary charged constituents like electrons and protons. Since the electromagnetic force is so much stronger than the gravitational force, it dominates all phenomena at atomic and molecular scales. Thus it is mainly the electromagnetic force that governs the structure of atoms and molecules, the dynamics of chemical reactions and the mechanical, thermal and other properties of materials.

Strong Nuclear Forces

These forces bind the neutrons and protons together in different nuclei. Short range forces (operate within the distances of the order of 1014 m) Strongest forces in nature; 1038 times stronger than gravitational forces Attractive in nature

Unification of Forces

S.

Name of Physicist

Achievement in Unification

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No 1. 2. Isaac Newton Hans Christian Oersted Unified terrestrial and celestial mechanics Electric and magnetic phenomena electromagnetism Unified electricity, magnetism and optics; showed that light is an electromagnetic wave Weak nuclear force and the electromagnetic force can be viewed as different aspects of electro-weak force Verified experimentally the predictions of the theory of electro-weak force.

3.

James Clerk Maxwell

4.

Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam, Steven Weinberg. Carlo Rubia, Simon Vander Meer

5.

Nature of Physical Laws

Conserved Quantities these are some special physical quantities that remain constant with time. Example Energy, linear momentum, angular momentum, charge, parity, etc.

Law of Conservation of Energy For motion under an external conservation force, the total mechanical energy (that is the sum of kinetic and potential energy of a body) remains constant.

Example Free fall of an object under gravity The sum of potential energy and kinetic energy of the ball remains the same at every point during its fall.

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The law of conservation of energy is valid for any kind of transformation between different forms of energy or across all domains of nature from the microscopic to the macroscopic.

Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum In the absence of an external force, the linear momentum of a system remains unchanged.

Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum If the total external torque acting on a system is zero, then angular momentum of the system remains constant.

Law of Conservation of Charge Charges are neither created nor destroyed, but are simply transferred from one body to another. In many cases, conservation laws simplify the problems. Using conservation laws of energy and momentum for beta decay, Pauli predicted the existence of a new particle called neutrino emitted along with electron in -decay.

Note

Conservation laws have a deep connection with symmetries of nature. For example, laws of nature do not change with time.

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Laws of nature are the same everywhere in the universe.

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