It is natural that a science capable of influencing so significantly in the life of human beings should also have an extraordinary influence on their way of thinking and their conception of life. Several people believe that physics can explain everything, and some physicists claim that this science is able to prove everything from the “existence” of extraterrestrials to the afterlife. In a way, we can say that Physics does not explain, but describes facts that occur in nature.
To start with, try answering the following question: what is physics? Defining Physics is not a very easy task and perhaps this difficulty comes from ancient times. Physics is a term that originates from the Greek word physis, which means nature. Physics, or rather, the physis of scholars such as Plato, Aristotle and also other philosophers, had nature as its main focus of study. However, today we are fully aware that nature is no longer an exclusive object of study in Physics, as Chemistry, Biology, Geology, etc. are also concerned with this study.
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Over time, Physics devoted itself to the study of a series of phenomena, while abandoning others, which became part of the study of other sciences. Thus, it is possible that the term Physics has become too broad to reveal its attributions, which, although very important, no longer encompass everything that is known about nature. In ancient Greece, for example, even medicine was part of physical studies.
Physics, defined by several books, is the branch of science that studies phenomena that do not change the nature of matter, whereas chemical phenomena would change it. We do not agree with this part of physics that studies situations in which one chemical element changes into another. This definition is reductionist and inadequate. Perhaps the most important thing is not to define physics, but simply to learn it.
By Domitiano Marques
Graduated in Physics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Domitiano Correa Marques da. "Introduction to Physics"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/introducao-fisica.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
