A Physicist's View of the History of the World

Physics is the oldest and the most basic of the Natural Philosophies (Science) that explain natural phenomena detected by our senses or extensions of our senses. Physicists explain observed phenomena by offering plausible principles that can be applied to predict the outcome of similar circumstances. Science is a creative activity in which we use our imagination to convert observations through judgment into theories about relative behavior. Theories are never observed, but are inspirations of the human mind, which predict the outcomes of future events. Physics describes how Nature works, but it does not explain why Nature works in particular ways. Physics specifically investigates the structure and behavior of matter and energy in two areas; classical physics: motion, fluids, heat, sound, light, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics: relativity, atomic structure, condensed matter, nuclear physics, elemental particles, and astrophysics.

Physicists form a mental image of an observed event and create a mathematical model or quantitative analogy to explain the natural states and properties of matter and energy. As our society developed our understanding of the natural environment progressed. The advancement in mathematical tools allowed the development of more accurate models in predicting and harnessing natural powers.

Our species, Homo sapiens, have populated the earth for at least 10,000 years with the same mental capacities as we have in the present day. Our first observed natural power was gravity, which is still not completely understood today. Our ancestors observed that an object that is positioned high above another could release tremendous “energy” and “do work” when released on another object. Our ancestors most certainly would not have defined “work” or “energy” or “action” in the same terms physicists do today. Observations in antiquity were macroscopic; we observed solid objects without sensory extensions.

With the advent of language mankind started to explain observations of the natural world within the magnitude of our senses. About 2,500 years ago (~ 400 B.C.) the Greek philosophers explained their observations by investigating the relationships of objects through numbers and created the tool of mathematics. Ptolemy predicted that every natural body is created out of spheres that have a corresponding musical tone associated with a number. He described the universe as “The Harmony of the Spheres” and claimed the Earth itself had a musical tone that was too low to hear due to the planets’ tremendous size and the associated infinitely large number. Small objects had high musical tones associated with very small numbers (such as fractions). Pythagoras investigated and formulated dimensional relationships of objects, developing the foundation of algebra, geometry and trigonometry, thus creating the models necessary to predict the outcome of objects never previously observed or constructed.

This led to the development of complex tools and machines in which gravitational. biological, and chemical energies and mechanical forces were redirected or converted from one form to another. In the third century B.C. Aristotle observed that objects in motion eventual come to rest and therefore deduced the natural state of all bodies is stationary. Without the understanding of frictional forces Aristotle was partially incorrect. Galileo would refine his observations almost 2000 years later and founded the modern view of dynamic and static mechanics. Sir Isaac Newton then summarized his analysis of motion in 1687 in his great work “Principia”, which is the basis of classical physics today.

For centuries humans had documented and employed many chemical and biological actions without understanding the physical mechanics involved. During a long period of invention and experimentation many devices were created that extended our senses, including the telescope and the microscope that enabled visual observations at great distances and approaching the molecular level. In the early seventeenth century there were observations of motion, heat, sound, light and gravity. But soon after Sir Isaac Newton explained the laws of motion, sound was explained as motion of air particles and heat could also be explained through the laws of motion. Physicists have a history of combining many phenomena into a few theories as our mathematical tools developed simultaneously with the sophistication of our observation. Often theories were changed or modified to fit the results obtained during investigation in order to be repeatable over a range of circumstances.

In 1873 James Clerk Maxwell combined many theories and described the single theory of electromagnetism that explained light as a wave. At this time in history there were laws of gravity, laws of motion and laws of electricity and magnetism. Around 1900 a theory was developed to explain the creation of matter. Called the electron theory of matter, it described the atomic structure with negatively charged particles orbiting around a heavy nucleus inside the atom. Attempts to use the mechanical laws to explain this behavior were disastrous. In 1926 an “uncommon-sense” theory was used to describe the new behavior of electrons in atoms known as quantum mechanics. But quantum theory also explained how atoms combine to form molecules and thus supplied a fundamental chemistry theory. Quantum mechanics could explain all of chemistry, biology and the physical properties of substances.

The theory of relativity was introduced by Albert Einstein to describe the theory of time and it’s implications on the Laws of Physics, specifically mechanics at velocities approaching the speed of light. Einstein also forwarded his Unified Field Theory in an attempt to combine all the Laws of Physics under a single synthesis. But gravitation still escaped complete understanding and did not conform to the existing Laws of Physics. In 1929 the Law of Quantum Electrodynamics was introduced to describe all the phenomena of the physical world except the gravitational effect and nuclear phenomena.

As mathematics and human sensory technology pioneered into sub-atomic or nuclear dimensions, we predicted an outcome of nature that had never been observed: a nuclear fission reaction. In 1945 with the entire world at war, global intellect and resources were allocated to uncover this new energy source. The human race entered the nuclear age by unleashing an unseen yet natural energy source. The collective intellect of our entire planet had been focused in the field of physics to achieve a new level of understanding of the world we live in. Are there greater levels of natural power yet for us to discover and understand? Can we comprehend and create new tools to predict the behavior of Nature?

More recently, one of the single leading theories describing all phenomena of nature is “The String Theory” which describes all matter and energy as being constructed from sub-nuclear strings of various frequencies and energy levels. Could it be that every natural body is created out of energy strings that have a corresponding musical tone associated with a number? Even if we can develop the technology to observe these strings of “particle-waves” we will still need to develop the appropriate mathematical tools to apply and understand the predicted outcomes of unseen circumstances.

Physicists are always testing to see if there are inconsistencies with a theory. Some theories are absurd from the point of view of common sense and seem to be illogical and unreasonable. Yet, Physicists have come to understand that theories sometimes get in the way of understanding and that the predictions of a theory that agree with experimental outcomes are the essence of good physics. Physicists use the objective “Scientific Method” which requires testing to prove repetitiveness of a theory over a wide range of circumstances. As measurement techniques achieve higher precision and accuracy repeated confirmations of predictions occur, only then will a theory be accepted as true, however, it is not possible to test a theory for every possible circumstance; therefore a theory can never be proven “absolutely true.” History tells us that theories are often replaced or refined by others that increase accuracy or explain a greater range of phenomena.

It is usually the level of mathematics used to model the physical behavior of Nature that is our source of difficultly or inaccuracy. Strides in our understanding of the world around us frequently coincide with the innovation of new methods of mathematical transformation. For millennia we may have been observing the next great natural power source yet to be discovered and converted for our use, but we do not comprehend what it is that we sense. If we presented a calculus derivation to a dog, would the dog understand the implications? Our next greatest challenge in Physics may be to expand the human mind to make it possible to explain and redirect the gravitational forces our ancestors used to survive 10,000 years ago.

"I seem to have been like a child playing on the seashore, finding now and then a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me." - Sir Issac Newton

"Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater." - Albert Einstein

HOME