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Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy and how they interact with each other.
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Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy and how they interact with each other. It is one of the most fundamental sciences. Physics is an experimental science. Physics is derived from the Greek word physis which means nature. Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, as well as all related concepts, including energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves. Scientists of all disciplines make use of the ideas of physics. Physics is also the foundation of all engineering and technology. No engineer could design any kind of practical device without first understanding the basic principles involved. To design a machine or device, the basic laws of physics have to be understood. Physics answers questions such as why the sky is blue, how radio waves can travel through empty space, or how a satellite stays in orbit. Physicists observe the phenomena of nature and try to find patterns and principles that relate these phenomena. The development of physical theory requires creativity at every stage. The physicist has to learn to ask appropriate questions, design experiments to try to answer the questions, and draw appropriate conclusions from the results.
Physics covers a wide range of phenomena, from elementary particles (such as quarks, neutrinos and electrons) to the largest superclusters of galaxies. Included in these phenomena are the most basic objects composing all other things. Therefore physics is sometimes called the "fundamental science". Physics aims to describe the various phenomenon that occur in nature in terms of simpler phenomena. Thus, physics aims to both connect the things observable to humans to root causes, and then connect these causes together.
Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millenia, physics was a part of natural philosophy along with chemistry, certain branches of mathematics, and biology, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 16th century, the natural sciences emerged as unique research programs in their own right. Certain research areas are interdisciplinary, such as mathematical physics and quantum chemistry, which means that the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries physicalism emerged as a major unifying feature of the philosophy of science as physics provides fundamental explanations for every observed natural phenomenon. New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms of other sciences, while opening to new research areas in mathematics and philosophy.
Physics is also significant and influential through advances in its understanding that have translated into new technologies. For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism or nuclear physics led directly to the development of new products which have dramatically transformed modern-day society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances, and nuclear weapons; advances in thermodynamics led to the development of industrialization; and advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus.