| Everything remains at rest unless a force is applied to it |
Mechanics |
| For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction |
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| Energy cannot be created nor destroyed but it can change forms |
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| The pull of gravity between 2 objects depends on their mass and distance |
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| If we know an object's mass / acceleration we can work out the forces on it |
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| Heat cannot travel to an area that is warmer than its current one |
Thermodynamics |
| It is impossible to reach a temperature of absolute zero |
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| An insulating material’s resistance to conductive heat flow is its R-Value |
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| Thermodynamics is the study of how heat relates to other forms of energy |
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| Temperature is actually a measure of kinetic energy (movement) |
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| Electromagnetism is the study of the link between electricity and magnetism |
Electromagnetism |
| Electric currents create magnetic fields |
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| Similarly, magnetic fields can create voltages |
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| Knowing this has allowed us to develop electromagnets |
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| And transformers, which transfer power between two circuits |
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| Nothing can travel faster than light |
Relativity |
| The faster you travel, the slower time goes for you |
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| Time also goes more slowly if gravity is stronger |
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| In theory, if you could travel faster than light, time would go backwards |
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| Only space can travel faster than light - but it is not matter or energy |
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| Everything that exists is actually a wave |
Quantum Theory |
| For subatomic particles time is meaningless |
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| Subatomic particles can be in many places at once - until we look at them |
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| It is impossible to predict quantum events. Instead we use probability |
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| Schrödinger's cat is a famous illustration of quantum theory |
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| Optics is the study of light's behaviour, qualities and interactions with matter |
Optics |
| There are invisible kinds of light, like X-rays, radio waves and ultra violet |
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| Some materials slow light down. Glass reduces its speed by about 25% |
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| Everything we can see either produces light (like the Sun) or reflects it |
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| Some materials bend light (think of lenses). We call this refraction |
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| Nuclear physics is the study of atoms' nuclei |
Nuclear |
| Elements are created and stars shine all because of nuclear fusion |
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| Heavier elements are not made by stars but by collisions of neutron stars |
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| Nuclear fission splits atoms, releasing vast amounts of energy |
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| One downside of nuclear power is radioactive waste |
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| Cosmology studies the beginning and development of the universe |
Cosmology |
| The Big Bang is the best model we have for the beginning of the universe |
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| What happened before the Big Bang is unknown. Time may have begun then |
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| Since then the universe has been constantly expanding |
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| Dark Matter is a mystery. We know it exists but cannot detect it |
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| Condensed matter physics studies the macroscopic properties of matter |
Matter |
| Most studies are concerned with solids, the densest kinds of matter |
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| It has helped us to understand how metals "work" |
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| And this has brought us transistors, solar cells and other technologies |
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| However, it is seen as "boring" by many and few physicists study it |
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| Galileo’s Tower of Pisa experiment changed our understanding of gravity |
History |
| And Copernicus proved that the Earth orbits the Sun |
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| Sir Isaac Newton changed physics more than anybody else |
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| Although Einstein is more famous because of his E=MC² equation |
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| The ultimate aim of physics is a "Theory of Everything" |
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