Neither physics nor chemistry could have reached its present level without mathematics.. “Neither physics nor chemistry could have reached its present level without mathematics.” Explai
Trang 1Neither physics nor chemistry could have reached its
present level without mathematics
“Neither physics nor chemistry could have reached its
present level without mathematics.” Explain from
either physics or chemistry
One of the greatest achievements of science is to find
relations and properties and explain them explicitly in the
form of a mathematical formula relations in physical
science cannot be subjective as in the case of humanities
Trang 2When viewed mathematically, there seems to be a
precision in almost all scientific phenomena Not only
qualities but also quantities are involved in science When
we say that H2O stands for a molecule of water; it
explains many things; how many atoms of Hydrogen are
combined with how many atoms of Oxygen and what is
the molecular weight When physical sciences use
formulae, it is nothing but putting things in mathematical
pattern These formulae explain a world of things
Mathematics also has a simple but grand way of
explaining things
Trang 3A few examples would suffice to prove this statement
Take for example areas of physics We speak of the
atomic weight It is only a mathematical concept to say
that the atomic weight of Hydrogen is 1 and that of oxygen
is 16 Indirect measurements made in different ways help
to arrive at this conclusion
Which physics student does not know that F = MA; MA
stands for force measured in terms of mass and
acceleration To explain “force” verbally may be very
Trang 4difficult but once the concept of the formula has been
caught, force is no more a difficult thing to conceive The
formulae relating to the gas laws are again wonderful
Look at P1V1/T1 = P2V2/T2 This equation, gas equation,
as it is called brings about a holy wedlock between Boyle’s
law and Charles’ Laws Where quantities of gases are
involved, this equation is useful Mathematical reasoning
has helped to formulate an Absolute Scale of temperature,
though so far nobody has arrived at the formula for
Absolute Zero
Trang 5One more example is Einsteins formula E=mc2 Where E
is energy, m is mass and c is the velocity of light What a
world of potentiality it has! This tiny formula had in it the
seed for nuclear physics It also shows how two entities
which were thought to be separate are indeed different
phases of the same matter Mass and energy are no more
separate
There is no are where mathematics has not played its
part Thus, it is safe to conclude that physical sciences
Trang 6have reached their present heights due to mathematics,
with all its precision, conciseness and objectivity