Introducing Physics !!

Do you know, what is the first question that I ask from any new batch? Just stress your brain. I think you can answer. I think many have got it right. Isn’t it obvious- What is Physics?

Before we start study of physics, it is important that we know what physics is all about and what are the things that we will study in it.

Most common answer is- Physics is the study of nature and its law. This is not incorrect. Still, a better definition can be given by slight improvement of this simple definition. A precise and concise definition might fetch you good marks in exams but still it is not enough to provide you a clear picture of physics.  

You might be knowing Richard Feynman? He is a famous physicist and a noble laureate. He has provided an elegant explanation of- What is physics? - by drawing a witty analogy between physics and chess.

Chess game involves number of moves…but all the moves must follow some set of rules….regarding way of movement of pieces, restriction over some moves, etc. Suppose a person don’t want to read the rule book and want to understand the rules by just watching the game. He will have to continuously watch the game and observe the several moves made by the players to draw some conclusion regarding rules governing the moves. For example, if he observes that pawn always moves only one box, he can claim to have decoded one rule. In this way he would decode other rules, one by one, as he observes  more and more.

Study of physics is somewhat similar. Nature can be said to be playing chess. Every phenomenon observed in nature like rainbow formation, lightning, magnetism or falling of apple from a tree are the moves made by nature. These moves are governed by some fixed rules. Example, apple always fall from tree and never goes up. In physics we try to find these laws by studying different phenomenon observed in nature. This is similar to the person observing the chess game to find its rules. Newton’s law of gravitation is nothing but a rule of nature which has been identified by Newton by observing nature. An apple falling from tree, moon moving around sun or supernova explosions in far universe- all follow the same rule or law which is the law of gravitation.