Physics

"All science is either physics or stamp collecting."

- Ernest Rutherford, the Physicist who discovered the nucleus of the atom.

Basic Information

Physics is the science of matter and it's motion. This includes concepts that are derived from matter and motion, such as spacetime, energy, force, and the like. Physics has a great deal of overlap with other branches of science. From some perspectives, Physics is the fundamental science.

Branches of Physics

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Atomic, Molecular, and Optic Physics
• Particle Physics
• Astrophysics
• Geophysics
• Biophysics

Domains in Physics

• Classical Mechanics - dealing with things large enough to observe, moving at relatively normal speeds.
• Relativistic Mechanics - thing large enough to observe, but moving at extremely fast speeds nearing that of light. See Relativity.
• Quantum Mechanics - the physics of extremely small things, moving at relatively normal speeds
• Quantum Field Theory - extremely small things, moving at extremely fast speeds

See Also:

• News: The strange case of solar flares and radioactive elements - a seemingly innocuous fluctuation threatens to to overthrow significant fractions of established physical knowledge.

• Biocosm
• Chaos Theory
• Fourth Dimension
• Hollywood Science
• Inverse-Square Law
• Isaac Newton
• Naked Falling Bodies
• Philosophy of Physics
• Science
• Scientific Method
• Scientist
• Unsolved Problems In Physics
• Time Crystal
• Twin Paradox

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia

2. Book: Hyperspace by Michio Kaku

Game and Story Use

• For the vast majority of gaming, all you need to understand is Classical Mechanics, and much of that can be summed up by common sense.
  • Science Fiction, however, may require more demanding Physics, as the other three domains tend to defy common sense and mundane experience in one way or another.
    • Any game with space travel may mess with your head a little bit, because Space Does Not Work That Way. See also Astrophysics.
    • If the spaceships travel very quickly, you'll want to make sure you understand Relativity and the Twin Paradox.
    • Quantum Mechanics and the like can probably be ignored unless you're running a hard science game with things happening in another dimension or on a subatomic level. Even then, most of it can be cleared away with a hand wave or some good technobabble. For science on the quantum scale, it's probably best to just name-drop a few buzzwords and leave it at that.
• The quote by Rutherford (at the top of this page, about Physics and Stamp Collecting) basically means that science falls into two categories:
  1. the study of how things interact - (in other words, Physics and sciences that overlap with Physics)
  2. the taxonomy (naming and classifying) of the things that interact.
     • Either you're figuring out how something works, or you're just organizing based on superficial similarities.[2]