I read a report entitled “The physics theory of Materials: How Science Improves Our Lives”, that was issued by Committee on Condensed-Matter and Materials physics theory, Solid State Sciences Committee, Board on physics theory and Astronomy, and National Research Council,all of them are in the US, that give the reader a sense of what condensed-matter and material physics theory is about.The report is comprissed of four major parts with 35 pages and published in 1997 by National Academies Press in America.I also read the free summary provided by the National Academies in US.
It is condensed-matter and material physics theory that have changed our lives so dramatically in the last fifty years. This field has played a key role in many of the scientific and technological revolutions.I know how the computer enable me to keep track of extraordinary complex data, from managing financial transactions
to forecasting weather, as I read in the report, and controlling automobile production lines and guide aircraft around the world.I use the cellular phone that show me how the telecommunications has evolved and enjoy music player while still have a nice chat with my new friend in Facebook. The scientists are able to predict and control the physical properties of matter that also enable the development of materials and devices. The report also illustrates the vital impact of CMMP on our daily lives, explores the nature of the
CMMP endeavor, and discusses issues arising from the growing dependence of CMMP on shared large and medium-size experimental facilities. I may will see the future of CMMP to become a rapid field for scientific and technological advances that will improve our lives. I have to learn CMMP so that I can get the chance to be a part in the dynamical field.

Like most kids in school I had to study physics theory as a compulsory subject, it was pretty much the worst form of torture I could think of.  With retrospect I’ve realised that its a huge shame that the study of such beautiful things are so susceptable to dusty old teachers.

So I’ve been unlearning years of school and trying to look at the subject with a fresh perspective and this is the foundation of my attempt to look at it with new eyes.

Here are some thoughts and quotes. I shall try to credit them where I can.

“Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us who believe in physics theory, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”- Eddington

The word physics theory is rooted in the Ancient Greek word “φύσις” which, like all language has several meanings, among them include nature, soul and spirit. My favourite interpretation then is that the first people who set about the study of physics theory were looking to find the soul of existence.

-(thanks Mr Hutchinson for years of painstaking drilling)

“The observer watching the rock, if physics theory is to be believed is actually observing the effects of the rock upon himself.”

The Book of Nature is written in mathematical characters, without whose help it is impossible to comprehend a single word, without which one wanders in vain through a dark labyrinth.
– Galileo

Music is the pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.
– Leibniz, Gottfried Whilhem (1646-1716)

The matter which makes up the palms of our hands, the lines in our lips, the creases at the back of our knees, is the same stuff of which stars are created. We are creatures of star dust.

Liam Neeson narrating nerdy NOVA specials:

Why should String Theory be so important to you?

We live in a wonderfully complex universe, and we are curious about it by nature. Time and again we have wondered— why are we here? Where did we and the world come from? What is the world made of? It is our privilege to live in a time when enormous progress has been made towards finding some of the answers. String theory is our most recent attempt to answer the last (and part of the second) question.

So, what is the world made of? Ordinary matter is made of atoms, which are in turn made of just three basic components: electrons whirling around a nucleus composed of neutrons and protons. The electron is a truly fundamental particle (it is one of a family of particles known as leptons), but neutrons and protons are made of smaller particles, known as quarks. Quarks are, as far as we know, truly elementary.

Our current knowledge about the subatomic composition of the universe is summarized in what is known as the Standard Model of particle physics theory. It describes both the fundamental building blocks out of which the world is made, and the forces through which these blocks interact. There are twelve basic building blocks. Six of these are quarks— they go by the interesting names of up, down, charm, strange, bottom and top. (A proton, for instance, is made of two up quarks and one down quark.) The other six are leptons— these include the electron and its two heavier siblings, the muon and the tauon, as well as three neutrinos.

There are four fundamental forces in the universe: gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces. Each of these is produced by fundamental particles that act as carriers of the force. The most familiar of these is the photon, a particle of light, which is the mediator of electromagnetic forces. (This means that, for instance, a magnet attracts a nail because both objects exchange photons.) The graviton is the particle associated with gravity. The strong force is carried by eight particles known as gluons. Finally, the weak force is transmitted by three particles, the W+, the W- , and the Z.

The behavior of all of these particles and forces is described with impeccable precision by the Standard Model, with one notable exception: gravity. For technical reasons, the gravitational force, the most familiar in our every day lives, has proven very difficult to describe microscopically. This has been for many years one of the most important problems in theoretical physics theory– to formulate a quantum theory of gravity.

In the last few decades, string theory has emerged as the most promising candidate for a microscopic theory of gravity. And it is infinitely more ambitious than that: it attempts to provide a complete, unified, and consistent description of the fundamental structure of our universe. (For this reason it is sometimes, quite arrogantly, called a ‘Theory of Everything’).

The essential idea behind string theory is this: all of the different ‘fundamental ‘ particles of the Standard Model are really just different manifestations of one basic object: a string. How can that be? Well, we would ordinarily picture an electron, for instance, as a point with no internal structure. A point cannot do anything but move. But, if string theory is correct, then under an extremely powerful ‘microscope’ we would realize that the electron is not really a point, but a tiny loop of string. A string can do something aside from moving— it can oscillate in different ways. If it oscillates a certain way, then from a distance, unable to tell it is really a string, we see an electron. But if it oscillates some other way, well, then we call it a photon, or a quark, or a … you get the idea. So, if string theory is correct, the entire world is made of strings!

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about string theory is that such a simple idea works— it is possible to derive (an extension of) the Standard Model (which has been verified experimentally with incredible precision) from a theory of strings. But it should also be said that, to date, there is no direct experimental evidence that string theory itself is the correct description of Nature. This is mostly due to the fact that string theory is still under development. We know bits and pieces of it, but we do not yet see the whole picture, and we are therefore unable to make definite predictions. In recent years many exciting developments have taken place, radically improving our understanding of what the theory is.

–

Peace
-Simranjeet Singh
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physics theory questions in geometry paper for pilot exam

Mumbai: Imagine appearing for the geometry examination only to find that the 100-mark paper has questions worth 20 marks from physics theory? Now think of the plight of the students if the pass marks in the exam is 70.
This is exactly what happened to hundreds of students who wrote the navigation paper for their commercial pilot licence examinations held this week.
“I was distraught when I started reading the navigation question paper and found the questions, one after the other, were related to the technical subject. For a moment, I thought I got the exam time-table wrong,” a CPL aspirant said.
Hundreds of pilot-training students across India have been wondering why their question paper was so unfair. “Students in Bangalore and Delhi have started a signature campaign to bring this to the attention of the director-general of civil aviation. We plan to submit our complaint soon,” a Mumbai student said. What students are certain of is a very high percentage of failure this time.
Students will have to wait for three months to attempt navigation the second time. DGCA Nasim Zaidi was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.
To get the commerical pilot licence, a student has to do 200 hours of flying training and clear written exams in four subjects: air meteorology, air regulations, technical (general and specific) and navigation.