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definition of physics



Gentle physics gurus,

I'm thinking about putting a definition of physics on our department web
page and in our catalog, especially for those who don't already have an
idea of what physics is (or for those who associate "physics" only with
"hard math"). What do you suggest?

The following definition of "science" appeared in AJP recently, but it
might be too much for a catalog entry and might not be specific enough for
physics. How would you abbreviate or simplify the following and make it
specific to physics? Or would you start from scratch? What makes physics
different from the other (natural) sciences? Or does it include them all?
(A colleague here said that any discipline with "science" in its name
isn't.) Is physics equivalent to science? (Nikita Kruschev said "Physics
is life.")

From Sept 1999 American Journal of Physics:

The following statement was originally drafted by the Panel on Public
Affairs (POPA) of the American Physical Society, in an attempt to meet
the perceived need for a very sort statement that would differentiate
science from pseudoscience. This statement has been endorsed as a
proposal to other scientific societies by the Council of the American
Physical Society, and was endorsed by the Executive Board of the
American Association of Physics Teachers at its meeting in Atlanta, 20
March 1999.

Science is the systematic enterprise of gathering knowledge about the
world and organizing and condensing that knowledge into testable laws
and theories.

The success and credibility of science is anchored in the willingness
of scientists to:

(1) expose their ideas and results to independent testing and
replication by other scientists; this requires the complete and open
exchange of data, procedures, and materials;

(2) abandon or modify accepted conclusions when confronted with more
complete or reliable experimental evidence.

Adherence to these principles provides a mechanism for
self-correction that is the foundation of the credibility of science.


Thanks in advance,
Larry