WFU Physics Colloquium

TITLE: Physics for Realists: What Is Momentum?

SPEAKER: Professor Murray S. Daw,

TIME: Wednesday February 13, 2013 at 4:00 PM

PLACE: Room 101 Olin Physical Laboratory

"In the science of nature, our first task will be to try to determine what relates to its principles. The natural way of doing this is to start from the things which are more knowable and obvious to us and proceed towards those which are what is more clear and more knowable by its nature." --- Aristotle (Physics)

"[Modern science] takes common sense for granted.". --- J. Robert Oppenheimer (Science and the Common Understanding)

"The last word from modern science is not the first word that the human mind can utter about nature. The modern scientist forms notions about physical things long before he starts his specialized work." --- Vincent Smith (Science of Nature)

"We should start the science of physics by studying the simplest physical things that are directly accessible to our senses." --- Anthony Rizzi (Physics for Realists)

These quotes point out that there are fundamental principles of nature that we necessarily use when beginning to do science, which therefore form the foundation of science. These fundamental principles are always present for the scientist, whether they are explicitly understood or simply implicitly assumed. Recent work by Anthony Rizzi that brings to light these fundamental principles has led to fresh insights into physics. Based on these principles, Rizzi has written a new freshman physics textbook, Physics for Realists. In this presentation, we will explore the textbook's widely unknown principles. We find that the use of solid first-principles benefits the students' understanding, and also that the mature physicist can make profound use of the insights. Finally, we address how these principles can be used to make all physical science more rigorous.