Shaping the future with Physics

Students often see physics as a subject they have to “deal with” rather than learn something from, what is your opinion about this as a teacher?                         

Physics is a challenging subject, and it requires a lot of patience, practice and persistence while studying. Students must change their approach towards the subject and must try to understand the underlying beauty of the subject. Physics is all about getting in touch with the natural phenomenon that occurs around us and the mathematics used is just a mode of expression. 

As a student, there are a lot of conceptions about physics being a difficult subject.  How did you in your own time get past it?

In order to overcome my fear, because physics was a daunting subject for me as well as surprising, I worked really hard on it as Einstein had once said, “There is “99% hard work and 1% luck”. Initially I thought that it was not my cup of tea but when I dealt with it with patience instead of anxiety, tension or pressure, my negative thoughts for the subject turned into positive and the subject started to seem interesting. 

Some students believe that Rotation is probably the hardest chapter in physics, so they leave it out.

No, it is not so, actually students have developed this perception for Rotational Motion themselves and it is very common. I guess the reason for this is that the unit Rotational Motion requires a lot of effort because it has numerous concepts, numericals and derivations as well. Students should go through this part with a slow pace and focus on the concepts in detail. I think that the students end up losing their patience and determination while working at such a pace, so quite often they leave this part.

How is physics practically changing our daily life? 

Physics plays a major role in society as the whirlwind technological advancement of the past decade is credited to physics.  Think about how the GPS navigation system has completely changed our view of finding locations and now we don't need to depend on anyone for basically anything. With the launch of advanced satellites for telecommunication and other purposes our country's economy is rapidly growing.

Can physicists find a solution to the current global issues?

The most significant area to which physics has been contributing is the development of alternative energy resources instead of fossil fuel. With the government's initiative, solar energy plants have been set up in many multinational companies, and are now reaching households as well. In the future, electric cars and fuel cell cars are going to replace the conventional petrol and diesel engine.

Physicists who changed our understanding of world around us and how is it affecting our lives every day in ways we do not know?

There are many physicists in the past who have changed the world around us. For example, Isaac Newton's Universal law of gravitation made us understand how each and every object that exists is interacting with the whole universe. Peter Higgs discovery of Higgs boson made us understand how atomic scale particles attain mass. Einstein mass energy equivalence tells us how mass and energy is interconvertible. Without Einstein's theory of relativity, GPS navigation would not be possible. Without Nikola Tesla, AC (alternate current) motor life would be miserable.

 What changes should be made to physics education in school to help in better preparation of students for university?

Exams should be concept based and should have numerical approach in it. These are the two areas where the students lack. They think mugging up the theory and the formulae will sort out their problems but often when they need to apply these formulae, they end up facing problems. 

Suggest some books which can help to understand the basic concepts of Physics for beginners or some tips and tricks for them to tackle it effectively.

I don't recommend any book for this subject. Every book has somewhat similar content and it completely depends on the students how they use a book. I would suggest them to make notes and write things in a way they can understand themselves, and always seek help wherever necessary. 

Is there anything else you would like to address related to your field of expertise? 

I must say respect the subject and don't lose your hope and patience while doing it, and I'm always here to help you.

Vikas Kumar, Physics Faculty 
Cambridge International School for Girls
2019-2020