PHY 131 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Kilogram, Abbreviation, Scientific Notation

• School: Stony Brook University
• Department: Physics
• Course: PHY 131
• Professor: Clark Mc Grew

Document Summary

Physics deals with the nature and structure of matter. Classical physics: motion, fluids, heat, sounds, light, electricity, and magnetism. Modern physics: relativity, atomic structure, condensed matter, nuclear physics, elementary particles, and cosmology and astrophysics. Model: a kind of analogy or mental image of the phenomena in terms of something we are familiar with purpose. A model gives us an approximate mental or visual picture. Theory: broader and more detailed than a model and can give quantities testable predictions. Law: concise but general statements about how nature behaves (laws are used when validity has been tested over a wide range of cases ad when the range of the validity are clearly understood. ) Eg: if you measure the width of a block then the measurement of the block would be written as: 8. 8 (cid:882). (cid:883) where 0. 1cm is the estimated uncertainty in the measurement.