Physics

Physics in Ancient Greek means knowledge of nature. Without considering what I already know about Physics, Ill
think of it as modernization. Through physics, humans have made a lot of theoretical breakthroughs. The different
branches of physics are of different functions and uses. All the branches are fundamental, penetrating and exciting.
My personal favourites are astronomy or astrophysics, classical physics and accelerator physics. Astronomy or
astrophysics is the study of celestial bodies such as stars, moons, galaxies, planets and nebulae. I find it exciting to
find out that there is a study that such phenomena that happen outside the earths atmosphere exist. It is also one of
the oldest sciences. I like antiques. Next is the classical physics, if Im not mistaken handles a lot of laws. It is superior
to light, heat, motion, electricity and magnetism. Id like to thank physics for giving humans the ability to make sparks,
light and spread hotness. My very last pick, accelerator physics, deals with particle accelerators, RF devices and X-
Rays. I havent tried undergoing an x-ray, but my grandfather has. It amazes me to see a picture of my own body
without having anyone to cut my body. Thats what a breakthrough is. Physics talks through mathematics. Now, thats
a problem. The very first topic we had was wave. Wave is a rhythmic disturbance that transfers energy through
matter or space. Plus the fact that, it carries energy without transferring matter from place to place. It has that, what
you call medium, this is where the wave travels. The waves are cute, they also have their own parts; the crest being
the highest point and the trough being the lowest point. The distance between these two is called wavelength. A
wave travelling has different characteristics, each related to each other. The speed of a wave, obviously called wave
speed, depends and only depends on the medium it travels through. Sound waves travel the fastest through solids
then liquids then gases. It also travels faster in a warmer medium while light waves travel the fastest in an empty
space and travels the slowest through solids. Compression and rarefaction can also take place; compression being the
place in which the particles of a wave are pushed together, rarefaction happens when the particles of a wave are
spread apart. As Ive said, physics speaks through mathematics, thats why its characteristics have a relationship.
Standing waves, on the other hand, are produced when two waved with the same frequency interfere with one
another while travelling in opposite directions along the same medium. It is called a standing wave because it appears
to be standing frozen in place. When you see an illustration of a standing wave, you will notice that it looks like a
corn. It can be two segmented, three segmented and so on and so forth. Its also has nodes and antinodes. Nodes are
points without displacement or zero amplitude while antinodes are points that undergo maximum displacement and
thus have the maximum amplitude. Another is water waves and seismic waves. Ocean waves are formed most often
by wind blowing across the ocean surface. The ocean wave formed depends on the speed of the wind forming it, the
distance of which the wind blows, and how long the wind blows. Seismic waves are forces in the earths crust that can
cause regions of the crust to shift, to bend or even to break. The breaking crust then vibrates, creating seismic waves
that carry energy outwards. The more the crust moves during an earthquake, the more energy is being released.
Just like in applying for work or an entrance exam, waves also have qualifications to be called a wave. First, all waves
must reflect, refract and diffract. Reflection happens when a wave reaches a boundary of the medium wherein it will
return back along its original path of motion. Its is going back or bouncing back of wave to the medium after reaching
the boundary. One of the applications of reflection in the real world is the mirror. How are you supposed to see
yourself in the mirror? It happens in two steps. First, light strikes your face and bounces off. Then, the light reflected
off your face strikes the mirror and is reflected in your eyes. It also happens in sound waves. Sound waves hit an
object. After that, they reflect and come back to you. You hear the sound multiple times. A law is being obtained in
reflection hence, the law of reflection. It states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. An
incident wave is a wave striking the mirror. Reflected wave is a wave that bounces off the mirror. The line that is
perpendicular to the surface of the mirror is what you call a normal. All reflected waves obey this law. Next is the
refraction. It happens when a wave passes from one medium to another. It then changes speed and direction at the
interference or the boundary. An example of this is the air and water. It is the bending of a wave caused by a change
in its speed as it moves from one medium to another. Diffraction is when an object causes a wave to change direction
and bend around it. So to summarize things, refraction and diffraction both causes waves to bend. The only
difference between the two is that refraction passes through an object while diffraction passes around an object.
Examples of diffraction are FM and AM radios and hearing around the corners. Interference happens when two or
more waves overlap and combine to form a new wave. It has two kinds; constructive interference and destructive
interference. Constructive interference takes place when two waves move towards each other. They will only add to
produce greater amplitude. Destructive interference on the contrary, adds together to produce a smaller amplitude.
Boundary behaviour is the behaviour of a wave when it reaches the end of a medium. When one medium ends and
the another begins, that is then called a boundary. Fixed end boundary is what you call the phenomena wherein the
medium will not be able to move. It results to an inverted reflected pulse. Free end boundary is a phenomena
wherein the wave is free to move up and down. It is when a waves medium is attached to a stationary object as a
free end. The end of the medium here can slide up and down. It results to a reflected pulse. The speed of a wave is
obtained with the formula of wavelength multiplied by the frequency. A particle of light is called a photon. It is
related to the formula of speed of light by the Einstein equation. The colours of the rainbow also differ in wavelength,
violet being the shortest and red being the longest. The incident, reflected and normal should all lie in the same
place. Index of refraction is dimensionless constant. It is obtained through dividing the speed of a light in a vacuum
and the speed of the light in a material. Total internal reflection or TIR happens when light travel from denser to a
rarer medium. An example of total internal reflection is the optic fiber cable that can handle 186,000 simultaneous
calls. Critical angle is also called a limiting angle. It is the angle formed when the angle of refraction is equal to ninety
degrees.
Light is a form of energy visible to the human eye that is radiated by a moving charge. We see light as a simple help
for us to see things clearly, well its not that simple. Light has many characteristics. It travels in a straight line. It
travels faster than sound waves. It travels through the cells of a green plant. When light reaches an object it is
absorbed, reflected and it passes through it. Humans have two light detectors. Eyes. There are also different sources
of light namely; luminescent and incandescent. Incandescent comes from heat while luminescent comes from
another source such as chemical and electric energy. Plane mirrors are specular due to switch of the reference frame.
Learning about plane mirrors can be easier through the acronym salt. The time scale for physics progress is a century
not a decade. There are no decade scales in the rate of progress physics has done. As long as men are confused, a lot
can be discovered.