4 ms·
I'm not sure that what you're asking is possible. An "explanation" is just a description of a deeper concept that implies what you're trying to explain. Physi
by sz 16y ago
I'm not sure that what you're asking is possible. An "explanation" is just a description of a deeper concept that implies what you're trying to explain. Physics is pretty much as deep as you can go. Put another way, physical theories are descriptions of the universe that agree with observation. You can explain other things in terms of physics, but it's hard to explain the nature of the universe in terms of something deeper without religion.
You might want to explain to your son how science works instead; how theories are formed, accepted, invalidated, and replaced. Looking up Feynman interviews on YouTube would be a good start.
- _delirium 16y ago> Physics is pretty much as deep as you can go. I don't think all physicists actually think that, or there wouldn't be nearly as much interest in and effort expended on things like interpretations of quantum mechanics, i.e. attempts to explain what quantum mechanics means at some level deeper than merely "here is quantum mechanics, and it makes testable predictions" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretations_of_quantum_mechanics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretations_of_quantum_mech...).
- sz 16y agoI should have said philosophy instead of religion in my comment. You're right, there isn't a perfect line between physics and philosophy (cf. the whole debate on whether string theory is science). When theories about the universe are no longer testable (pure mathematical speculation), there's not much to distinguish physics from philosophy-with-equations. But all of our theories about the universe up to the limit of reasonable certainty I would consider physics.
- shawndumas 16y ago"Physics is pretty much as deep as you can go." ... http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/purity.png http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/purity.png
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]