Physics: What, How and Why

Physics is crucial to understanding the world around us, the world inside us, and the world beyond
us. It is the most basic and fundamental science. Physics encompasses the study of the universe from the
largest galaxies to the smallest subatomic particles. Moreover, it's the basis of many other sciences,
including chemistry, oceanography, seismology, and astronomy. All are easily accessible with a
bachelor's degree in physics.
The importance of physics isn't limited to the "hard sciences." Increasingly, physicists are turning
their talents to molecular biology, biochemistry, and biology itself. Even medicine has a niche for
physicists, and since medical physicists are hard to come by, they are much in demand. Physics also
undergirds many new technologies. Cell phones, the Internet, and MRIs are only a few examples of the
physics-based technological developments that have revolutionized our world. Many theoretical and
experimental physicists work as engineers, and many electrical and mechanical engineers have physics
degrees.
It is a fair assumption that the majority of physics students, both past and present, would agree that
physics is one of the more difficult subjects studied in senior school. Indeed many students find it difficult
to even define physics, let alone grasp the subtleties of all the formulas made up of strange looking
symbols. Physics is the science that attempts to describe how nature works using the language of
mathematics. It is often considered the most fundamental of all the natural sciences and its theories
attempt to describe the behavior of the smallest building blocks of matter, light, the Universe and
everything in between.
It is a fascinating subject and one would assume very useful to study. Yet statistics show that in the
UK the number of entries to A-level examinations for physics has fallen steadily from 46 606 in 1985 to
only 27 368 in 2006, this represents a 41% decrease. Meanwhile over the same time period the number
of students entering A-level examinations for biology has increased by 36% and the number of students
entering A-level examinations for chemistry has stayed relatively constant. This decreasing trend in the
number of senior school physics students is echoed in many other countries around the world.
Perhaps it is the general lack of understanding of what physics is, combined with the subjects inherent
difficulty and reliance on mathematics, which tends to discourage a student from studying physics. If a
student doesnt understand what physics is they are unlikely to grasp the relevance of physics to society,
and more importantly the relevance of physics to them. It is clearly important that students need to know
why physics is important and what careers or other benefits may stem from studying physics.
The importance of physics to society today is most easily represented by our reliance on
technology. Many of the technologies that that are continually transforming the world we live in can be
directly traced back to important physics research. For example, research on the physics of
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semiconductors enabled the first transistor to be developed in 1947. This seemingly simple device is
the key component in all of our electronic systems, including computers, and it is now considered one of
the most important inventions in human history. Also it is the laws of optics describing the way light
behaves that have lead to the development of the optical fiber networks that are beginning to crawl over
the entire globe, drawing the world closer together.
There are countless more examples of research in physics leading to the development of
important technologies. It is hoped that todays research on nanostructures (structures a billion times
smaller than a meter), quantum information or photonics (basically electronics with light) will lead to the
next generation of technologies including faster and more robust computers and communication
systems. On a less tangible level physical theories have allowed us to obtain a greater grasp of the
Universe we live in. It is the theories of physics that provide us with some of our deepest notions of
Space, Time, Matter and Energy. Physical theories allow us to conceptualize the workings of the
building blocks of all matter. These are things we would never be able to experience in everyday life. At
the other extreme the theories of cosmology tell us how the Universe began and how it could possibly
end. Again this is an example of physics going beyond the limits of our experience to describe the
space we live in. Although there is varied opinion on the amount of trust we can place in the theories of
physics, the fact remains that these are theories produced from a rigorous and systematic method and
they are constantly tested against experimental evidence. As such physical theories give us relatively
concrete conceptions of notions beyond our everyday experience.
The study of physics in schools and universities is undoubtedly relevant to society today.
However an individual deciding whether to study physics in senior school has to decide whether physics
is relevant to them. The most obvious question to ask is what careers may stem from studying physics
in high school and then university? Figure 2 shows the distribution of American physics graduates with
a bachelors degree in 1995-1996 and 2002-2003. In all 4 years represented over half the graduates
began working in the private sector. The rest of the graduates are distributed amongst the education,
university, government and military sectors.

A physics student usually possesses excellent analytical, quantitative and problem solving skills. They
have the ability to synthesize and analyze large quantities of data and present their analysis in an easily
understandable form. When faced with a particular problem they are taught to systematically identify all
factors contributing to the problem and work out how those factors interact in order to solve the
problem. These are valuable skills that can be applied in a range of careers. More importantly an
increasing number of employers are starting to realize this fact and are looking to hire physics
graduates. An example of this is contained in an Australian job ad shown below in Figure 3.

Perhaps the greatest skill a physics student develops is a sense of wonder about how things work. We
are living in a technologically advanced age in which the average person relies on technology without
understanding how that technology works. How many of us have looked at a DVD disc, and wondered
how it can contain an entire film? Who has held an Ipod and thought about how so many songs can be
squeezed into a tiny space? Physics teaches us a method of systematic thinking and also the theories
necessary to allow us to once again understand how the things we rely on actually work.
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There is no denying that physics is a difficult subject to study at high school. With the pressure many
students feel to produce good grades it is understandable that many students will simply choose less
challenging subjects at school. However it is important to remember that studying physics also has
great rewards. For those with an ambition to be at the forefront of developing technologies and theories
that describe our reality it is necessary to study physics at school and beyond. For students with
ambitions in other areas such as business management or finance the study of physics during senior
school is also important even if those students dont intend to study physics or science at university. It
demands respect from many employers and university administration officers as it provides students
with excellent analytical, problem solving and quantitative skills.
I think by now you probably get the picture on just how crazy important physics is for the things we use
everyday. From the house you live in to your fancy smartphone or a jumbo jet, the influences of physics
can be seen literally everywhere you look. And theres still plenty of things we missed like cooking!
Our life would certainly be a lot harder and less comfortable without all the great things weve gotten
from its study. If youre interested in learning more about physics by traveling even deeper down the
rabbit hole into quantum physics, this course will serve as an excellent introduction into some of its
more basic concepts in English.