Physics
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Physics is the study of the laws that govern the behaviour of the world around us.
For example, when you throw an apple in the air why does it fall back down to earth and not float off into space? The answer lies in the laws of physics.
Unfortunately the book of physics is written in the language of mathematics and this does tend to turn people off a bit.
Physics comes in various flavours,
Quantum mechanics
This is the study of things on a very small scale. One of the fundamental principles is that you can't say exactly where an particle is or how much energy it has. Some people believe that a usefull application of QM is finding car keys but this has yet to be achieved.
Materials
Metal is shiny, wood is not. This is because of where the electrons are in the materials. Metal is bendy, wood snaps. These properties are again governed by physics
Optics
This is a great source of jobs for physicists.
Medical Physics
With MRI (or NRM) scanners becoming more popular in hospitals this is an expanding area of physics. Being able to see inside the body without cutting someone open is very useful and there are some interesting ideas behind it.
Electronics
Some people will try to tell you that this is a subject worthy of pesuit in its own right. Its really just physics in wires.
It is worth mentioning a little here about doing a degree in physics. It will require less time being spent in the lab, will deal with more abstract subjects and hence hae easier exam questions and will still get you the same sort of job at the end of it.
For example, when you throw an apple in the air why does it fall back down to earth and not float off into space? The answer lies in the laws of physics.
Unfortunately the book of physics is written in the language of mathematics and this does tend to turn people off a bit.
Physics comes in various flavours,
Quantum mechanics
This is the study of things on a very small scale. One of the fundamental principles is that you can't say exactly where an particle is or how much energy it has. Some people believe that a usefull application of QM is finding car keys but this has yet to be achieved.
Materials
Metal is shiny, wood is not. This is because of where the electrons are in the materials. Metal is bendy, wood snaps. These properties are again governed by physics
Optics
This is a great source of jobs for physicists.
Medical Physics
With MRI (or NRM) scanners becoming more popular in hospitals this is an expanding area of physics. Being able to see inside the body without cutting someone open is very useful and there are some interesting ideas behind it.
Electronics
Some people will try to tell you that this is a subject worthy of pesuit in its own right. Its really just physics in wires.
It is worth mentioning a little here about doing a degree in physics. It will require less time being spent in the lab, will deal with more abstract subjects and hence hae easier exam questions and will still get you the same sort of job at the end of it.
