What Is Physics?

Most people hear the word 'physics' and run for cover. But it's not just for rocket scientists! You
are surrounded by physics all the time, and whether you realize it or not, you use physics every
day. Physics, the study of matter and energy, is an ancient and broad field of science.
The word 'physics' comes from the Greek 'knowledge of nature,' and in general, the field aims to
analyze and understand the natural phenomena of the universe.
One thing that may come to mind when you think of physics is the many scientific laws, which
are statements describing phenomena that have been repeatedly tested and confirmed. This is
actually an important part of physics. Physicists perform and repeat experiments, sometimes ad
nauseam, to formulate these laws and explain how our universe works. These laws (such as
gravity and Newton's laws of motion) are so thoroughly tested that they are accepted as 'truths,'
and they can be used to help us predict how other things will behave.
Because physics explains natural phenomena in the universe, it's often considered to be the most
fundamental science. It provides a basis for all other sciences - without physics, you couldn't
have biology, chemistry, or anything else!

Branches of Physics

As previously stated, the definition of physics allows for many subjects to fall under it. Fields
within physics may study things as large as the universe itself, or particles so small you can't see
them in a traditional optical microscope. Here we'll go over some of the physics fields scientists
are working in today.
Let's start with the large scale, examining those fields that are looking beyond our planet and out
into the depths of space. Cosmology is the field of physics that studies the entirety of the
universe as a single entity. Cosmologists strive to understand the origin of our universe, how it
has changed over time, and what the future might hold for it. Then there is astrophysics, which
also looks to understand how the universe works. Instead of looking at it as one whole,
astrophysicists often break the universe down into smaller chunks. An astrophysicist might study
the properties of everything from entire clusters of galaxies down to individual stars, planets, or
even smaller bodies moving through space. One example of something an astrophysicist might
do is preemptively calculate the flight path of large asteroids in our solar system to see if the
Earth is in danger of being hit by one.

Trajectory of an astreroid travelling near the Earth

Now we'll move from space down to our own planet with geophysics. Geophysicists study the
physical properties of the Earth and its immediate surroundings. They study parts of the Earth,
such as plate tectonics, the magnetic field, or the fluid mechanics of the oceans and the
atmosphere. Geophysicists might use this data they've collected for purposes such as determining
where valuable metals and minerals can be mined, or for making sure the ground of a
construction project is safe to build on. While geophysics looks at what the Earth is made of,
biophysics is focused on the creatures living on it. Biophysicists research anything ranging from
whole ecosystems down to the internal processes and individual cells of a single living organism.
Biophysics has helped us develop technologies such as CAT scans and MRIs that get images of
the inside of our body, without invasive surgical procedures, in order to assist doctors with their
work. As might be guessed from their names, geophysics and biophysics are both
multidisciplinary fields. Geophysics also incorporates elements of geology and meteorology, and
biophysics uses concepts from biology. What distinguishes geophysics and biophysics from the
non-physics based fields is that they have a heavy focus on using a quantitative approach with
computational and mathematical methods to back their research.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan

We've now scaled in size from studying the entirety of the universe with cosmology down to
individual cells with biophysics, but we aren't done yet. Let's go even smaller to the individual
atoms that make up our universe with atomic physics. Atomic physics covers the physical
properties of individual atoms as well as atomic interactions with other atoms, electric fields, and
magnetic fields. Yet we can go even smaller than individual atoms with the field of nuclear
physics. Nuclear physics doesn't look at the whole atom, but concerns itself only with the
nucleus of the atom. Nuclear physics covers topics such as radioactive decay, nuclear fusion, and
nuclear fission. Famously, this is the field of physics that brought us the atomic bomb and
harnessed nuclear energy in power plants. Finally, we'll end our scaling down with photonics. A
photon is a single quantum of electromagnetic energy, which for simplicity's sake is often treated
as a particle of light even though it is distinctly not a particle. It is one of the smallest known
existing things in this universe. Photonics studies the physical properties of these photons with a
focus on using them as a transmitter of information in a similar way that electrons are currently
used in modern devices.

Diagram of an atom

These branches of physics we've gone over are certainly not all that exist out there. Just to name
a few more, there are theoretical physics, plasma physics, condensed matter physics, etc ... But
the ones we've gone over should give you a grasp of how wide of a field physics is. It
encompasses both the biggest and smallest things you can possibly imagine.

The scale of the universe

The Fundamental Subject Areas

While the different branches of physics are very diverse, there are a number of core fundamental
topics that every physicist learns regardless of what field she or he ends up working in. Here we
are going to have a brief overview of those topics.
Classical Mechanics

Classical mechanics is the foundation on which modern physics is based. It focuses on the
motion of particles in a three dimensional system, and has its basis in the three laws of motion
defined by Isaac Newton. Of all the fundamental subject areas, classical mechanics is the most
easily relatable to the world around us. It deals largely with the physical properties of solid
objects that can be seen by the naked eye, touched, and held in your hand. You can learn how far
a ball will fly after being hit by a baseball bat, how many times a pendulum will swing back and
forth before it stops, how the breaks in your car or bicycle work, and much more. Here is where
everyone begins their journey into physics and what the majority of your first physics course will
be focused on. You'll learn about the motion and interaction of large particles in one, two, and
three dimensions, exploring topics such as velocity, acceleration, mass, force, work, energy, and
momentum.
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

Thermodynamics is a field based on the physics of heat. This can encompass topics such as heat
transfer, entropy, the internal energy of a system, pressure, engines, and refrigerators. Often,
when working with thermodynamics, you are working with a system containing an unknown
number of particles. This system can be a gas, solid, or liquid and can even be changing among
those phases over time. When working with an unknown number of particles, you need to use
approximation. For approximations, you need statistics and probability distributions. In other

words, you need the field of statistical mechanics. This is why these two are almost always
paired together in physics. Some examples of things you can learn about in this subject area
include how refrigerators, heaters, and engines work, what happens when you open the door on a
cold winter day and the cool air from outside comes into contact with the warm air of your
house, or how the process in which the ice in your cup cools down your drink works.
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