Some Thoughts on Physics
You may not have known this, but every engineering student takes
at least one semester of physics. That's usually a course in
mechanical physics. Unfortunately, the average person has a very
weak understanding of basic physics and that person thus believes
things that can't be true because they violate basic laws of
physics. You don't have to be such a person. You can rise above
average, by studying basic physics.
While physics is a large catch-all category of science, its
central idea is that of understanding how the physical universe
works. That's a valuable understanding for people to have, even in
their daily lives. Much of that understanding is already ours, due
to intuition and "common sense," but unfortunately those same
attributes lead to much misunderstanding.
Not only will learning in the area of physics make you more
knowledgeable and more capable, going about it is actually fun.
Well, it's fun until you get to the math and then that part is fun
only if you like math. If you don't like math, the reason is your
math education was faulty. We have a
practical math course that will clear that right up. Math is
beautiful in its symmetry, and it is a wonderful tool for seeing
patterns in the world around you. There are some compelling reasons
why it's the language of scientists and engineers.
Some ways you'll use fairly simple math as you explore physics is
the use of basic quantities and measurements. These aren't
mind-numbing, until you get to the extreme quantities. Here are some
examples of units physics people use (you use many of the same
ones):
- Time. The International System of Units holds the second as
the basic unit of time. No problem, there. How many times have
you sat at a traffic light counting the seconds?
- Length. For most Americans, this one's a bit tough. For the
rest of the world, it's no big deal. The meter is the basic unit
of length. The definition of it changed from the original one,
which was based on distances between points on the earth. The
modern definition is the distance light travels in a vacuum in
about 1/300th of a second. The actual time is a 9-digit number,
we just rounded it up from 299,792,458 to avoid annoying you.
Why such a crazy number? It's a redefinition of what the meter
was under the original definition without changing the length
that produced. This was necessary for reasons of stability over
time.
- Mass. Don't confuse mass with weight or volume. When we say
a person has a "massive rear end," we are commenting on the
volume (what we see--the taking up of space). Here on earth, we
typically determine the mass of something by measuring its
weight, but only because it's fairly easy to weigh something and
the relationship between mass and weight on earth is known.
Of course, there are many more units used in physics (pressure,
speed, direction, momentum, etc.). The most famous, or in the case
of first-year physics students, infamous, is the mole. The many
electrical units, such as current and voltage, are also units of
physics. Basically, anything that measures a physical quantity in
some way is a unit of physics.
If you're embarking on a study of physics, it would probably
benefit you most to begin with kinematics. That's the study of
motion. This is the foundation of mechanical physics, and once you
understand this subject you will be amazed at how much more you
understand about the world around you. It's like unlocking a door to
a huge vault filled with understanding. The principles apply to many
subjects. You will be able to intelligently weigh in without having
read an iota about a particular subject in a long list of subjects.
Even better, the study of physics helps you develop your critical
thinking skills. You can apply those to non-physical subjects and
quickly discern disinformation from information (not 100%, but a
very high percentage nonetheless). You can do that without working
through the many complex equations that advanced physics students
work through. Remember though, we are talking about a basic
understanding of physics. To grasp the advanced concepts, you have
to do the math.
For the average person, gaining an understanding of the basics
would be a huge improvement in his or her mental abilities. You can
find many good books for the layperson at your local library, and
probably get some great free audio book downloads there as well. The
physics posters here will also help you with your basic physics. |
