What is Physics?
The story of
quantitative reasoning
about the natural world.
What is Physics?
Textbook reading -- Chapter 1
What is Physics?
Overview
Contents
Herein, you will find resources related to the following topics:
What is Physics?
The Characters
What is Physics?
The scope of physics
What are the characters in the story of physics?
Physical quantities
defined operationally or through relationships.
Relationships
principles, laws, models, etc...
The world of physics
+
What is Physics?
The scope of physics
Physical Quantities
The world of physics
Physical
Re: nature
Numerical representation
+
Precision
+
Unit
Quantity
Decimal Notation
Scientific Notation
Engineering Notation
231.5
2.315\times10^2
2.315\text{E}2
What is Physics?
The scale of physics
Powers of Ten
On June 1st 2020, I watched the live stream of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch; the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, in 2011.
As I saw the numbers climb on the counters in the bottom left corner of the video feed, indicating ever-increasing speeds in units of KM/H and altitude in units of M, I saw yet another example of how technology amplifies human action: in this case allowing us to travel vast distances at great speeds, compared to our own ability to travel unaided by technology.
Launch @4:22:00
What is Physics?
The scale of physics
Powers of Ten
In the midst of a global pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus, some of the conversations surrounding the efficacy of masks involved discussion of particulate matter (PM) sizes -- here's an infographic showing relative sizes of particulates.
What is Physics?
The scale of physics
Powers of Ten
How do we know the sizes of these objects?
This is yet another example of technology amplifying our ability to resolve small things.
To detect objects on the scales depicted in the graphic, for example, we use an optical or an electron microscope, to resolve objects we are otherwise unable to resolve with our unaided vision.
What is Physics?
The scale of physics
Powers of Ten
The scales of lengths and times and mass we are able to resolve are vast, and therefore we require a good system to keep track of these ranges. Watch the following video, and read about prefixes in Section 1.2
What is Physics?
The scale of physics
Powers of Ten
Read the section "The Scale of Physics"
and pay attention to what scientists mean by "orders of magnitude"
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities
What is Physics?
The scope of physics
What are the characters in the story of physics?
Physical quantities
defined operationally or through relationships.
Relationships
principles, laws, models, etc...
The world of physics
+
What is Physics?
The scope of physics
What are the characters in the story of physics?
Physical quantities
defined operationally or through relationships.
Relationships
principles, laws, models, etc...
The world of physics
+
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities -- Units
What is Physics?
Timeline of SI pre-2018
What is Physics?
Units
History of the SI system, from inception to 2018.
What is Physics?
Units
Pre and post 2018 (most recent change.)
What is Physics?
Units
Current SI base units, and the physical constants that define them.
What is Physics?
Base and Derived Units
What is Physics?
Base and Derived Units
What is Physics?
Base and Derived Units
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities -- Unit Conversion
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
On the importance of the proper use of units.
I recall an incident from back in 1999 ...
When NASA lost a spacecraft!
To master the skill of unit conversion, you should check off the following:
proceed through the presentation to be able to check off these skills!
| What are conversion factors, and where to find them. | |
|---|---|
| How to use conversion factors properly to convert from one unit to another. | |
| How to properly do unit conversion of squares and cubes. |
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
Learning outcomes
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
Unit Conversion
First, read these few paragraphs about unit conversion from the textbook.
Watch this video for more information on conversion factors, and how to use them in multiple examples.
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
Conversion factors
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
Conversion factors
Tables in Appendix C with some common conversion factors. In case you need them.
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
Unit Combinations
Watch this video to learn how to convert unit-combinations
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
Area & Volume
Watch this video to learn how to convert area and volume
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
Other resources: video 1
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities -- Relationships
What is Physics?
The scope of physics
Law vs Theory
Relationships
principles, laws, models, etc...
The world of physics
Read the section "Building Models"
and pay attention to what scientists mean by "Law" and "Theory"
What is Physics?
The scope of physics
Law vs Theory
Relationships
principles, laws, models, etc...
The world of physics
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities -- Dimensional Analysis
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities -- Scalars & Vectors
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities
Directional information
\vec{v}
Scalar quantities
Vector quantities
\vec{r}
\vec{F}
position
velocity
force
{v}
\Delta t
T
time interval
speed
temperature
Specified by Magnitude only
Specified by Magnitude & spatial Direction
What is Physics?
Physical Quantities
Magnitude and Direction
\vec{r}
t
relative position
relative time
What is Physics?
Classical Physics -- Setting the scene
What is Physics?
Basic premise
Subtitle
This world a stage
What is Physics?
Basic premise
Subtitle
\vec{r}
t
relative position
relative time
What is Physics?
Unit Conversion
On the importance of the proper use of units.
\vec{r}
t
relative location
What is physics
By omoussa
