PHYSICAL WORLD

SCIENCE
The word science originates from the Latin verb ‘Scientia’ meaning to know The Sanskrit word for
science is ‘Vijnan’. Science is the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and
natural world through observations and experiments. Science is exploring, experimenting, and
predicting what we see around us. The curiosity to learn about the world is the first step towards the
discovery of science.

What is Scientific method?

Scientific method is a way to gain knowledge in a systematic and in-depth way. It involves several
interconnected steps: Systematic observations, Controlled experiments, qualitative and quantitative
reasoning, mathematical modelling, prediction and verification or falsification of theories.

Explanation of some key terms connected to scientific method

Hypothesis- It is a supposition without assuming that it is true. It may not be proved but can be

verified through a series of experiments.

Model- It is a theory proposed to explain observed phenomena.

Assumption- It is the basis of Physics, where a number of phenomena can be explained. These
assumptions are made from experiments, observations and a lot of statistical data.

What is Physics?

Physics is a basic discipline in the category of Natural sciences. The word ‘Physics’ comes from a
Greek word meaning nature. Its Sanskrit equivalent is ‘ Bhautiki’.

Physics is the natural science that studies the matter and its motion and behaviour through space
and time and that studies the related entities of energy and force. It deals with matter and its
relation to energy. It is concerned with every aspect of Universe. It governs the physical world and
natural phenomena that occurs around us.

Main Objective of Physics is to understand the law of the universe and understand everything in it.
 Two Principal thrusts in Physics: unification and Reductionism

Unification – The effort to see the physical world as manifestation of some universal laws in
different domains and conditions is called Unification. For example (1) Law of gravitation given by
Newton describes (a) fall of an apple to the ground (b) motion of moon around the earth (c) motion
of planets around the sun.

Example 2: Basic laws of electromagnetism govern all electric and magnetic phenomena

Progress in unification of different forces/domains in nature

Isaac Newton 1687 Unified celestial and terrestrial mechanics

Hans Christian Oersted 1820 Showed electric & magnetic phenomena are
Michael Faraday 1830 inseparable
James Clerk Maxwell 1873 Unified electricity, magnetism & optics

Reductionism- The effort to derive the properties of a bigger, more complex system from the

properties and interactions of its constituent simpler parts is called Reductionism.

Example: Thermodynamics deals with bulk systems in terms of macroscopic quantities such as
temperature, internal energy, entropy etc. but such as temperature were explained in Kinetic
theory with the help of microscopic quantities such as average kinetic energy of molecules of the
system.

Scope and Excitement of Physics

Two domains of interests in Physics are Macroscopic and Microscopic

Macroscopic domain includes Terrestrial and Astronomical scales. Classical physics deals mainly with
macroscopic phenomena and includes subjects like Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Optics and
Thermodynamics

Microscopic domain includes atomic, molecular and nuclear phenomena

The microscopic domain of Physics deals with the constituition and structure of matter at the
minute scales of atoms and nuclei and their interaction with different electrons, photons and other
elementary particles. As Classical Physics is inadequate to handle this domain currently Quantum
theory is accepted as the proper framework for explaining microscopic phenomena.

Therefore the scope of Physics is truly vast. It covers a tremendous range of magnitude of physical
quantities like length, mass, time, energy etc.

Range of length - 10 -14 m (for electrons, protons, etc.) to the scale of galaxies whose extent is the
order of 1026m.

Range of Mass - mass of an electron ( 10 30kg ) to Mass of known observable Universe(1055 kg)

Range of time- is obtained by dividing the length scales by the speed of light (10-22s to 1018s)
Physics is exciting in many ways. The excitement comes from the universalities of its basic theories,
carrying out imaginative new experiments to unlock the secrets of nature and applied physics-
application and exploitation of physical laws to make useful devices.

Theory and experiment go hand in hand in Physics and help each other’s progress.

The ALPHA SACTTERING EXPERIMENT OF RUTHERFORD gave the NUCLEAR MODEL OF ATOM

SCIENTISTS CONTRIBUTION COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Archimedes Principle of Buoyancy Greece

Galileo Galilei Law of Inertia Italy

Christian Huygens Wave theory of light Holland
Isaac Newton Universal law of gravitation U.K.
Michael Faraday Laws of electromagnetic U.K.
Induction
James Clerk Maxwell Electromagnetic theory :Light- U.K.
an Electromagnetic wave
Hertz Generation of E.M. Waves Germany
J.C.Bose Ultra short Radio Waves India
W.K. Roentgen X-rays Germany
J.J.Thomson Electron U.K.
Curie Discovery of radium & Poland
Polonium
Albert Einstein Explanation of Photo-electric Germany
effect, Theory of Relativity
R.A.Millikan Measurement of electronic U.S.A.
charge
Ernest Rutherford Nuclear Model of Atom New Zealand
Neil Bohr Quantum Model of Hydrogen Denmark
atom
C.V.Raman Inelastic scattering of light by India
molecules
Louis Victor de Broglie Wave nature of matter France
M.N.Saha Thermal Ionisation India
S.N.Bose Quantum Statistics India
Wolfgang Pauli Exclusion Principle Austria
Enrico Fermi Controlled Nuclear Fission Italy
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle Germany
Edwin Hubble Expanding Universe U.S.A.
 E.O.Lawrence Cyclotron U.S.A.
James chadwick Neutron U.K.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha Cosmic radiation India
S.Chandrashekhar Chandrashekar Limit,Structure India
and Evolution of stars
John Bardeen Transistors U.S.A.
Abdus Salam Unification of weak and Pakistan
Electromagnetic Interactions

C.H.Towns Maser,Laser U.S.A.

LINK BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND PHYSICS

TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLE

Steam Engine Laws of themodynamics

Nuclear Reactor Controlled nuclear Fission
Radio and Television Generation and propagation of EM waves
Computers Digital logic
Lasers Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
Production of ultra high magnetic fields Superconductivity
Rocket propulsion Newton’s law of motion
Fundamental Forces in nature

1. Gravitational force 2. Electromagnetic force 3. Strong nuclear force 4. Weak nuclear

force

Gravitational force is the force of mutual attraction between any two objects by virtue of their
masses.

Examples of gravitational force

a. Motion of the earth and planets around the sun.

b. Motion of the moon and artificial satellites around the earth.

Characteristics of Gravitational force

 It is a central force. * It is independent of the nature of the intervening medium.
 It is a long range force * It is a conservative force. * It is a Universal force
 It acts along the line joining the centres of the two interacting bodies.

Electromagnetic Force- is the force between charged particles. For charges at rest the the force
is given by Coulomb’s law –attractive for unlike charges and repulsive for like charges.

Examples of Electro-Magnetic force

a. E.M. force governs the structure of atoms and molecules.

b. Dynamics of chemical reactions is governed by E.M. force.
 Charges in motion produce magnetic effects and a magnetic field gives rise to a force on a
moving charge. Electric and magnetic effects are inseparable-hence the name electro-magnetic
force.

Characteristics of Electro-magnetic Force

 It is a Universal law. * It is a central force

 All objects on the earth force of gravity. * It obeys inverse square law.
 It is a conservative force * It is both attractive and repulsive
 It is a long range force. * It is 10 36 times stronger than gravitational force

Strong Nuclear Force binds protons and Neutrons in a nucleus. It is the strongest of all
fundamental forces. About 100 times the Electro-magnetic force.

Characteristics of Strong Nuclear Force

 It is attractive in nature * It is a non-central force.

 It does not obey inverse square law *It acts over a very short range
 It is 100 times stronger than E.M. force and 1038 times stronger than gravitational force.

Weak Nuclear force is the force which appears only in certain nuclear processes such as beta
decay. In beta decay, the nucleus emits an electron and an uncharged particle called neutrino.

 The range of weak nuclear force is exceedingly small, of the order of 10 -13m
Nature of Physical laws

Physicists explore the universe. The various phenomena that occur in nature are explained on the
basis of certain laws. The quantities like charge, mass, energy, linear momentum, angular
momentum of a body or a system are conserved (remain constant) .The law governing the
conservation of these quantities in nature are known as conservation laws.

Law of Conservation of Energy- ‘ Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can be
transformed from one form to another form’.

Law of Conservation of mass-energy- According to Einstein mass and energy are inter-convertible
quantities. The sum of mass and energy of a system remains constant. This is given by the relation
E=mc2 where ‘c’ is the speed of light in vacuum.

Law of conservation of charge- ‘The total charge on an isolated system remains constant.

Law of conservation of linear momentum- ‘The total momentum of an isolated system remains
constant’.
Conservation laws and symmetries of nature

Conservation laws can be derived from the properties of space and time i.e. space –time symmetry.
Conservation laws have a deep connection with symmetries of nature. Symmetries of space and
time and other types of symmetries play a central role in modern theories of fundamental forces in
nature.

(i) Homogeneity of Space – means that space is alike everywhere .If an experiment is
performed at one place in space ,then the same experiment performed at any other
place in space must give the same result. Law of conservation of linear momentum
emerges from the homogeneity of space.
(ii) Isotropy of Space - Isotropy of space means uniformity of direction .Experiments
performed at different directions give the same result .Isotropy of space gives rise to the
law of conservation of angular momentum.
(iii) Homogeneity of Time - means one duration of time is identical to any other duration of
time. Results are the same performed at different time during the day or during the
year. This gives rise to the law of conservation of energy.