Introduction

Physics is the most fundamental of all sciences. The scale at which it is studied ranges through the largest and most massive objects such as galaxies, to the smallest and least massive objects such as sub-atomic particles. The work of renowned physicists such as Newton, Planck, Einstein and recently Hawking has fundamentally changed our views on the nature of the universe, yet Physics remains full of exciting questions and mysteries to solve. Physics is both challenging because it is an exacting science and good fun because it is lively and practical.

Physics is the study of the fundamentals of everything in the universe. If you look around you and start asking questions like 'why does that happen ?' or 'how does that work ?' then you are thinking like a physicist.

When you start learning Physics, you will begin with motion: velocity, acceleration, force, mass , energy - these are some of the concepts found at the beginning of a Physics course. The principles developed apply to the motion of anything - planets, electrons, athletes, owls … If you continue to study Physics as a second year student, you will learn new laws and theories (The Gas Laws, Newton's Theory of Gravitation, Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity) that help to explain more complex aspects of the natural world.