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FYS > Seven Brief Lessons in Physics > Flashcards

Seven Brief Lessons in Physics Flashcards

1
Q

What is the 1st lesson?

A

Gravity acts through a field. That gravitational field is space itself. It is, in effect, space-time, and it can be curved due to mass.

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2
Q

What is the special theory of relativity?

A

Einstein’s first theory of relativity, that shows that time doesn’t pass equally for everyone

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3
Q

What is the general theory of relativity?

A

Gravitational field is space itself.
The laws of physics are always constant. The speed of light is always observed to be the same. The floor accelerating upwards feels the same as gravity pulling you down to the floor.

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4
Q

Who theorised that space must be expanding?

A

Einstein

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5
Q

When was space observed to be expanding?

A

1930

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6
Q

What is the 2nd lesson?

A

Quantum Mechanics

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7
Q

How does light exist?

A

In discrete patterns; photons

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8
Q

What is quantum mechanics?

A

Fundamental particles have a probability to exist in certain situations, when observed or interact

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9
Q

Why was Einstein bothered by this?

A

He thought there was no place in reality for randomness - that it should be lawlike

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10
Q

What is the 3rd lesson?

A

The model of the solar system; heliocentric

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11
Q

Who believed in the geocentric model?

A

Aristotle and Ptolemy

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12
Q

What was Ptolemy’s model?

A

Geocentric, with each planets also having epicycles

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13
Q

Who presented the heliocentric model?

A

Copernicus

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14
Q

What is the 4th lesson?

A

The Standard Model of Elementary Particles

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15
Q

What is the exchange particle holding together quarks inside nucleons?

A

Gluon (strong interaction)

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16
Q

What are the fundamental particles?

A

Electrons, quarks, photons, gluons, neutrinos

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17
Q

What are the problems of the Standard Model of Elementary Particles?

A

Criticised for being ambiguous, convoluted and unsystematic; there is no single unifying equation; deals with very large outputs that need to be ‘renormalised’; unsatisfyingly complex; did not predict dark matter

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18
Q

What is the 5th lesson?

A

How general relativity and quantum mechanics interact

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19
Q

What is the problem with general relativity and quantum mechanics?

A

They contradict each-other

20
Q

On what scale does general relativity operate?

A

Universal

21
Q

On what scale does quantum mechanics operate?

A

Subatomic particles

22
Q

What is the endeavour to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics?

A

Loop quantum gravity

23
Q

What does quantum mechanics claim about physical space?

A

It has a granular structure; it is made of quanta much like a field

24
Q

How does loop quantum gravity describe the world?

A

As a series of interactions, rather than objects

25
Q

What does loop quantum gravity say about time?

A

There is no time ‘in which’ events occur in. There may not be temporal order

26
Q

Why are black holes an issue for loop quantum gravity?

A

There can be no infinitesimal points, only discrete units

27
Q

How does loop quantum gravity explain black holes?

A

A sun in the last stages of its life collapses into an unstable Planck star, then rebounds

28
Q

What question is raised by loop quantum gravity?

A

It is a ‘big bounce’, formed from a preceding universe that contracted under its own weight

29
Q

What is the 6th lesson?

A

Thermodynamics; probability

30
Q

What was the original theory explaining heat?

A

It was transferred in a fluid called caloric

31
Q

Who first realised that heat relates to the movement of particles?

A

Maxwell and Boltzmann

32
Q

What is the distinction between past and future?

A

The transfer of heat

33
Q

Why does heat transfer from hot to cold?

A

Energy is conserved in each collision

34
Q

What is the science of the probability of different motions?

A

Statistical physics

35
Q

What is statistical physics?

A

The science of the probability of different motions

36
Q

What is statistical physics called when referring to heat?

A

Thermodynamics

37
Q

Why is thermodynamics probabilistic?

A

The qualities and quantities about an object that we observe do not give us enough information to exactly predict its thermodynamic future

38
Q

What have thermodynamics and statistical physics been applied to?

A

Electromagnetic fields and quantum phenomena

39
Q

What have we theorised about the application of thermodynamics to gravity?

A

Gravity is space-time. When it is heated, time/space should vibrate, but we cannot yet describe this. What is a vibrating time?

40
Q

What does modern physics describe the world as a function of?

A

Time; because it ‘flows’ in a way space does not

41
Q

What has been (somewhat counterintuitively) suggested about the past and future?

A

They exist, in the same way that things that are not ‘here’ exist

42
Q

How is time similar to the geocentric model?

A

It is natural intuition

43
Q

What is the 7th lesson?

A

Ourselves; what role do humans play?

44
Q

What are the three obstacles to our perception of the world?

A

Our ignorance, our senses, our intelligence

45
Q

What is information?

A

The connection that physics makes between the state of two things

46
Q

What questions does Rovelli posit about human minds?

A

Is there free will? Does human consciousness transcend the regularity of nature; Einstein’s law-like world?

47
Q

What conclusion does Rovelli come to about the mind?

A

‘Me’ and the physical interactions in my brain are one and the same

FYS (3 decks)

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