Physics in Everyday Life

Ambar Rodriguez

      For years, many students have asked themselves why I have to study physics, why does everyone says it is so important when it doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m studying.  They do not recognize it but physics is a part of our everyday life.  Physics is one of the most important lessons we get in high school and college.

      Everyday we do things that we can observe the principles and laws of physics.  For example, if we slide a box through a surface, there are several forces acting upon it, like friction, weight, the normal force and the applied force by us. When we are driving our car, the car has torque, friction, applied force, rotational energy, and many other concepts learned in the study of physics.  I read in an article the importance of studying the route that a force in an object that is being design has, which is a great example of the applications of physics in our careers.  The article explained that by studying or visualizing the load path in a design the designer can view areas that can be improved. 

      Another article that exposed the physics point of view in normal life was “What if two people stumbled into quicksand: Would the heavier person sink faster?”  In this article, a geologist explained that quicksand is regular soil with reduced friction between the particles.  As learned in the physics course, an object with less friction than the normal friction of the object can move easier than objects with the correspondent friction.  The Doppler Effect, which has to do with the movement of wave through space and how humans detect it, can be appreciated when we hear the siren of a passing ambulance.  People perceive the sound of a siren of a moving ambulance differently because the wavelength differs depending on the position of the person. 

      We can also see how physics works in music instruments, especially in pianos and guitars.  Guitars produce sound when the player pulls or agitates the strings, which produces standing waves.  The sound depends on the thickness of the string.  Wave motion can also be observed when we throw a rock into a lake.  These waves are produced by the oscillation of the water. 

      Physics is very important to understand some of the mysteries of the world and the universe.  Physics studies the universe.  We can use physics to explain motion of different maters, how an object will work, and how to prevent an accident. Without physics many of the sciences and even calculus wouldn’t have been invented. 

References

Skakoon, J. G. (2008). “The route that forces take”.  Mechanical Engineering: The Magazine of ASME, (130, 39-42). 

Bonsor, Kevin, and Katherine Neer.  "What if two people stumbled into quicksand: Would the heavier person sink faster?."  28 November 2007.  HowStuffWorks.com.  12 May 2009.

Giancoli, D. C. (2008). Physics for scientists and engineers with modern physics. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.