Physics Textbook/Physics is the Pioneer Science
Physics is the pioneer science. Its development into a full-blown science is largely attributed to the successful works of Galileo (1584-1642) and Newton (1642-1727). Moreover, the concepts of the younger sciences, like chemistry, are reducible to that of physics.
Like all other sciences, though, physics employs the scientific method. It deals with the basic nature of all matter and various ways that matter interacts with other matter.
Chemistry deals with the interaction between atoms and properties of substances that result from such interaction. Geology and astronomy are specialized sciences in which the basic principles of physics and chemistry are used to understand Earth and other heavenly bodies.
Biology is concerned with the nature of living things. You have learned that the cell is the basic unit of life. Inside the cell, particularly in the nucleus, are the molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA—the storehouse of information about different life forms in this planet Earth.
The boundary between sciences has been broken down. Most of the promising fields of research today lie at the borders of physics and other sciences. Some examples are biophysics, physical chemistry and chemical physics. The interface of physics, biology and chemistry is most important in the molecular and atomic levels.
Physics and Mathematics
[edit | edit source]Physics has progressed using the tools of mathematics. On the other hand, mathematics has developed from its association with physics. Differential calculus and integral calculus were developed by Newton to cope with the problem of motion and rates. Vector analysis arose as a tool of mechanics.