What are the relations of Physics with other sciences?

Question

This is a project I have in school, frankly the key leads I have are chemistry and mathematics, on where I should research on first. Can anybody expand it? What are the relation of physics with other sciences? (you could at least give me the name of the science, and I'll probe it for its relation to physics. If your feeling generous however, don't hesitate to anwer this question completely.)

Answer 1

Physics is the most fundamental of the sciences - if you like - it is the foundation science from which most of other 'hard' sciences are built.

Physics is the science of explanation and numerical prediction. Mathematics is the key descriptive tool of physics but it is no more fundamental because pure mathematics is about the pursuit of mathematics and not the description of the 'real' world. Most theories within physics stem from a balance equation where either energies or forces are balanced. The solutions to theoretical equations thus provide the descriptions and predictions of the 'real' world.

Until the start of the twentieth century, the whole of physical theory was 'classical' in nature in that it dealt with 'cause and effect' descriptions of the world. These classical theories used Newtonian Mechanics and Maxwellian electromagnetic theories etc. With the advent of ‘Quantum Mechanics’ (from 1900 until 1928 and later) and its derivative ‘Statistical Mechanics’, physics became more probabilistic in nature. However, these modern theories provide only ‘expectation values’ for the starting and end conditions of an observation but do not 'say' what has happened in between! Einstein's Special and General Theories of Relativity (1905 and 1915), provided a correction to Newtonian mechanics and a better description of gravity and the cosmos. Unlike Quantum Mechanics, the relativity theories are classical in nature and unfortunately, these two great corner stone’s of modern physics are incompatible!

It is impossible to write out a complete list of how physics relates to the other sciences but I will attempt to indicate some of the myriad relationships in the table below: -

Physics topic____________Other Science
Mechanics______________Engineering
Quantum Mechanics_______Chemistry
Quantum Mechanics_______Micro Electronics
Maxwel's Electromagnetism_Electronics
Relativity_______________Astronomy
Super Conductivity________Engineering
Optical theory____________Instruments
Gas mechanics__________Engineering
Nuclear Physics__________Weapons
Nuclear Physics__________Reactors design


The list is endless. I hope this helps you find some of the inter-relationships between physics and the other sciences.

Answer 2

Physics is the Queen of the sciences. As Lord Rutherford said 'All else is stamp collecting'.

In principle (though not in practice as it's too complex) physics can predict all other sciences. Needless to say I'm a physicist.

Answer 3

Maths is it's indispensible servant,
Chemistry is ageless auntie
Biology is it's grandchild. - with some dubious genetics
Medicine is it's proud Son
Geology is a long lost relative
Astro-physics and Particle physics are unidentical twin cousins forever feuding over familiy budgets and inheritences
Sociology and Psychology are bastard offsprings - from out of wed-lock relationships with hippies in the 60s

Answer 4

At college we once had a chemistry teacher say...

1. Draw a thin elipse. Label it biology.

2. Draw a second thin elipse twice the size of the first which covers most of biology and label it chemistry.

His point is that most of biology is based on chemistry -- DNA, chemical processes, etc. Most processes could be explained in purely chemical terms -- although many (such as the cell membrane) would be incredibly complex. Today computers simulate many of these structures using purely chemical rules.

So, in our next class we mentioned this to our physics instruction. He then said...

3. Draw a third separate thin elipse and call it astronomy.

4. Draw a forth separate thin elipse meeting only chemistry and label it geology.

5. Draw a large circle which intersects with 90% of all other elipses yet leaves about 10% of each outside the circle. Label the circle physics.

His point, most of chemistry could be explained by physics -- forces, matter, atoms, etc. -- it could explain chemical interactions, molecules, etc. in purely physics terms. Painfully complex, but possible. Most of chemistry relies on physical structure of atoms, but merely accepts these as facts and focuses on using this knownledge for more complex structures without revisiting the physics. Same with geology -- the study of a specific case (usually Earth or other planet) of gravity, heat, pressure, etc. Same with astronomy -- the study of fusion, light, gravity, etc. That which is left outside of the physics circle is a small subset of disipline specific things -- naming in organic chemistry, evolution in biology, etc. In many cases the overlapping areas are called bio-physics, astro-physics, or atomic-chemistry, etc.

So, we showed our diagram to our math professor. He laughed and said...

6. Draw another circle -- cover 90% of all other circles leaving about 5% of each outside the circle. Call it math.

Answer 5

some chemistry involved when it comes to melting point and the transfer of thermal energy (heat)