INTRODUCTION
We are living in the century of science and technology and introduction of
science in our daily has transformed our lives. When people had no idea
about science, even then their lives were governed by principles of different
branches of science. When we light a fire, it is a chemical process; when we
eat and digest food, it is biological process; when we walk on Erath, it is
governed by laws of physics; when an Earthquake occurs, it’s a seismic
activity; when we talk about different terrains and gems of Earth surface, it is
related to Geology. There is no single activity of our lives, which define our
one or other field of science. Similarly, physics governs our everyday lives
and is involved in a number of activities we perform and things we use in our
daily life. Here we will discuss how physics is playing its part in running our
everyday tasks and assists us to do our errands, chores and duties smoothly
and effectively.
BODY
Physics is considered natural science because it deals with the things like
matter, force, energy and motion. As these all are related to task related to
everyday life, so, we can say that physics studies how the universe works,
how Earth Moves around the sun, how lightening strikes, how our refrigerator
works and many more. In short, physics define how everything works around
us. When cannot separate anything from science and, our world cannot
disconnect itself from the wonders of Physics. When we look around us, we
can see a number of things that work on the principles of Physics. We can
explain our several activities by making use of the knowledge of Physics.
Here, we will discuss some of the example, which will help us to learn how
physics is playing its part in our lives each day.
Walking
A number of principles of physics are involved in simple act of walking. It
involves concepts of weight, Newton’s three laws of inertia, friction,
gravitational law and potential and kinetic energy. When we walk, we
actually act like an inverted pendulum. When we put the foot on ground, it
becomes our axis and our mass is centered in our abdomen, describing the
shape of an arc. When we set foot on ground, we actually put weight i.e
w=mg and apply backward force on ground, as the response to our weight,
ground responds by an opposing force which is vertical in nature, on leg
which slows us down and this slowing process continues unless our leg
comes nearest to our tummy. When leg is moving, kinetic energy is at
maximum and potential energy is zero, but, when leg reaches nearest to
belly or arc, potential energy reaches to its maximum. When another step is
taken, the stored potential energy is converted to kinetic energy and this
process continues. We act as an imperfect pendulum, because all potential
energy is not converted into kinetic energy. Only 65 percent of energy is
provided by stored potential energy to take next step, remaining 35 percent
is provided by bio chemical processes. (Kunzig, 2001)
When we walk we actually do some work in physical terms, as W=F*S, when
we exert some force and as a result of it we cover some distance we actually
do work. During walking, Newton’s three laws of motion are applied. First law
of motion states that, a body remains in state of rest unless a force is applied
on it. When we are at rest, inertia is at maximum. Body needs largest
amount of force to get out of state of inertia, i.e when we start walking.
When we talk first step the energy is transferred from foot to upper body
parts and we start moving, during the process of walking inertia keeps on
changing increases when we set foot on ground and decreases when we
move the foot up. Second law of motion states that a=F/m i.e acceleration is
directly proportional to the force we use or exert while walking, therefore,
when we will apply more force, our acceleration will increase. Third law of
motion is about action and reaction, when we set foot on ground we exert
force on it and as a result to it ground exerts reactionary vertical force on
body. (Patricia Ann Kramer, 2011)
Cooking
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, temperature
and work done due to it. Heat is a form of energy that can be transferred
from one medium to another i.e heat transfer. For heat transfer, heat travels
from hotter surface to cooler. When we put pan, with water or something
else in it, on burning stove the energy in flame of stove touches cold pan, it
starts transferring heat to the pan thus making it hooter. This phenomenon is
called conduction. Convection is a process of movement of molecules in
liquid and gases. When we heat the pan, the water molecules on the base of
pan start heating up, a time comes when they get enough energy and
become hotter than the molecules around them, then they start moving to
the surface of water. The water molecules on the surface are cooler and
heavier from hot water, due to less heat energy, thus start moving down,
this process continues until all water comes at same temperature.
(ouchmath, 2011)
The cooking process is an open system, because in this both matter and
energy is lost. According to zeroth law of thermodynamics energy should be
conserved, in our case the energy lost by flame is used by pot to heat water
and thus the total energy remains conserved. If we use pressure cooker it
uses het energy to bring spontaneous changes into food by using kinetic
energy of molecules to bring chemical changes in food; thus satisfying law of
thermodynamics that spontaneous works are done due to work energy.
(Lathbridge, 2013).
Cutting fruits and vegetables
When we cut fruit and vegetable, we never realize that physics could be
involved in this simple task, but, surely it is. In order to cut anything, we
have to exert pressure on knife. When we increase the pressure we can cut
an object easily. Pressure is dependent on force and area i.e directly
dependent on force and inversely dependent on area. In simple terms we
can say that when we exert more force we can cut an object easily, but, if
same force is applied with a knife with thicker edges, we cannot it. From
experiences we learn that the knives which have edges with smaller surface
area can help to cut an object easily. Similarly, we can cut easily with a
sharper knife than blunt. The blunt knife offers more friction, due to its rough
edges; thus making it difficult to cut an object.
Seeing
Our eyes are an incredible gift by God. We see wonders of the world, by this
small organ. When we talk about parts of body and their function, it is the
general concept that we are talking about biology. But, we neglect the fact
that functions of our body parts are also working under the laws of physics
and chemistry. If we talk about the sense of seeing, we come to know that
our eyes work as a camera to see things around us. The lens in our eyes is
convex i.e it converges or focuses light. When light enters our eye, cornea
and lens focus the light. Iris controls the amount of light entering the eye and
iris creates an image on retina, which is real and inverted i.e like in camera.
