Abstract
In this chapter we set out the scope of the book and the relationship of physics to other scientific disciplines and philosophy . We also briefly discuss the partition into Classical and Modern Physics, the practical relevance of the topic and some of the a priori tools guiding physicists in their endeavour. In order to streamline the information, particularly for readers more interested in the recent developments in the field, in this Chapter and in the following one, much of the information has been relegated to self-explanatory figures and tables.
Physics is the ultimate intellectual adventure, the quest to understand the deepest mysteries of our Universe. Physics doesn’t take something fascinating and make it boring. Rather, it helps us see more clearly, adding to the beauty and wonder of the world around us. When I bike to work in the fall, I see beauty in the trees tinged with red, orange and gold. But seeing these trees through the lens of physics reveals even more beauty.
Tegmark [1]
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Notes
- 1.
In Latin, a place where three roads meet.
- 2.
In Latin, a place where four roads meet.
References
M. Tegmark, Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality
Dante: The Divine Comedy, (Book III, Heaven, Canto 2) translated by Clive James, Picador
Titus Lucretius Caro, “De Rerum Natura”, Poem, Translated by William Ellery Leonard
J. Richard Gott III, Time Travel in Einstein’s Universe: The Physical Possibilities of Travel Through Time
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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Barrett, R., Delsanto, P.P., Tartaglia, A. (2016). The Whats and Wherefores of Physics. In: Physics: The Ultimate Adventure. Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31691-8_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31691-8_1
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