3 ms·
I have found that there is a world of everyday physics, related to things like temperature, humidity, weather, materials (durability, permeability etc.), clothi
by sampo 6y ago
I have found that there is a world of everyday physics, related to things like temperature, humidity, weather, materials (durability, permeability etc.), clothing, nature, cooking, farming, cars, and also now in covid times about droplets and droplet evaporation, turbulence, breathing and face masks. These are fascinating and come up in everyday life. And maybe they might come up in your work if you're an engineer and work about manufacturing physical things.
But typical university physics curriculum is, I guess understandably, focused on fast-tracking you to the borders of known fundamental physics: quantum mechanics, particle physics, astrophysics. Whereas the everyday physics builds on more classical things like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, structural mechanics, which are usually covered only quickly, and partially only in elective courses.
So if you want to learn physics for more practical purposes than understanding the progress of research in quantum and particle physics, a normal physics curriculum does not serve you too well. But it still gives you the foundations to self study these topics.
- jhrmnn 6y agoHave a Phd in physics, agree fully. I love talking to people about the physics and chemistry in every-day life, and you need very little of quantum mechanics or advanced electromagnetism. Perhaps statistical physics (thermodynamics) is the single most useful topic. Also, if you want to understand the science in every-day life, chemistry (or more broadly materials science) is arguably more relevant than physics per se.
- codesuki 6y agoDo you know any books or courses that focus on every day /chemistry? That would be a nice way to learn.
- cmehdy 6y agoI've always thought that one could write a book of recipes that also goes into the chemistry of things (pressures, heat, types of reactions, acid-base stuff, etc). Making delicious things while understanding what goes on, which coincidentally is what sometimes chefs do pretty well when explaining their recipes (I've discovered Kenji Lopez on HN and he does a bit of that in many of his videos)
- neutronicus 6y agoAlso in his cook book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
- neutronicus 6y agoThe thing is the math gets hard really quickly in problems related to everyday life.
- jeffreyrogers 6y agoReminds me of Feynman's quip along the lines of "Why do we use linear approximations? Because we can solve them."
- charleshmartin 6y agoAgreed