In order to gain a better understanding of the physical world, scientists use a process of investigation that follows a general cycle of observation, hypothesis, deduction, test and revision, sometimes referred to as the scientific method. Galileo Galilei, one of the earliest architects of this method, believed that the study of science had a strong logical basis that involved precise definitions of terms and physical quantities, and a mathematical structure to express relationships between these physical quantities.
In this section, we study a set of base physical quantities and units that can be used to derive all other physical quantities. These precisely defined quantities and units, with accompanying order-of-ten prefixes (e.g. milli, centi and kilo) can then be used to describe the interactions between objects in systems that range from celestial objects in space to sub-atomic particles.
Mechanics is the branch of physics that deals with the study of motion and its causes. Through a careful process of observation and experimentation, Galileo Galilei used experiments to overturn Aristotle’s ideas of the motion of objects, for example the flawed idea that heavy objects fall faster than lighter ones, which dominated physics for about 2000 years.
The greatest contribution to the development of mechanics is by one of the greatest physicists of all time, Isaac Newton. By extending Galileo’s methods and understanding of motion and gravitation, Newton developed the three laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation, and successfully applied them to both terrestrial and celestial systems to predict and explain phenomena. He showed that nature is governed by a few special rules or laws that can be expressed in mathematical formulae. Newton’s combination of logical experimentation and mathematical analysis shaped the way science has been done ever since.
In this section, we begin by examining kinematics, which is a study of motion without regard for the cause. After which, we study the conditions required for an object to be accelerated and introduce the concept of forces through Newton’s Laws. Subsequently, concepts of moments and pressure are introduced as consequences of a force. Finally, this section rounds up by leading the discussion from force to work and energy, and the use of the principle of conservation of energy to explain interactions between bodies.
Amongst the early scientists, heat was thought as some kind of invisible, massless fluid called ‘caloric’. Certain objects that released heat upon combustion were thought to be able to ‘store’ the fluid. However, this explanation failed to explain why friction was able to produce heat. In the 1840s, James Prescott Joule used a falling weight to drive an electrical generator that heated a wire immersed in water. This experiment demonstrated that work done by a falling object could be converted to heat.
In the previous section, we studied about energy and its conversion. Many energy conversion processes which involve friction will have heat as a product. This section begins with the introduction of the kinetic model of matter. This model is then used to explain and predict the physical properties and changes of matter at the molecular level in relation to heat or thermal energy transfer.
Waves are inherent in our everyday lives. Much of our understanding of wave phenomena has been accumulated over the centuries through the study of light (optics) and sound (acoustics). The nature of oscillations in light was only understood when James Clerk Maxwell, in his unification of electricity, magnetism and electromagnetic waves, stated that all electromagnetic fields spread in the form of waves. Using a mathematical model (Maxwell’s equations), he calculated the speed of electromagnetic waves and found it to be close to the speed of light, leading him to make a bold but correct inference that light consists of propagating electromagnetic disturbances. This gave the very nature of electromagnetic waves, and hence its name.
In this section, we examine the nature of waves in terms of the coordinated movement of particles. The discussion moves on to wave propagation and its uses by studying the properties of light, electromagnetic waves and sound, as well as their applications in wireless communication, home appliances, medicine and industry.
For a long time, electricity and magnetism were seen as independent phenomena. Hans Christian Oersted, in 1802, discovered that a current carrying conductor deflected a compass needle. This discovery was overlooked by the scientific community until 18 years later. It may be a chance discovery, but it takes an observant scientist to notice. The exact relationship between an electric current and the magnetic field it produced was deduced mainly through the work of Andre Marie Ampere. However, the major discoveries in electromagnetism were made by two of the greatest names in physics, Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell.
The section begins with a discussion of electric charges that are static, i.e. not moving. Next, we study the phenomena associated with moving charges and the concepts of current, voltage and resistance. We also study how these concepts are applied to simple circuits and household electricity. Thereafter, we study the interaction of magnetic fields to pave the way for the study of the interrelationship between electricity and magnetism. The phenomenon in which a current interacts with a magnetic field is studied in electromagnetism, while the phenomenon in which a current or electromotive force is induced in a moving conductor within a magnetic field is studied in electromagnetic induction.
