(8) is Physics a Branch of Applied Mathematics_ - Quora

7/25/2019 (8) is Physics a Branch of Applied Mathematics_ - Quora

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Is physics a branch of applied mathematics? Why are some branches of mathematic s boring?

Is chaos theory a branch of mathematics or physics?

Why?

Which branch of physics has the least amount of

mathematics?

What arethe most intuitive branches of mathematics

and physics?

Which branch of mathematics can open the door to

study theoretical physics and physics of the

universe? Pure/applied and which specific branch...

How is theoretical physics applied mathematics?

Is signal processing a branch of applied

mathematics?

What branch of mathematics is indispensable to

physics?

Is computer vision a branch of applied mathematics?

Which should I go for - (engineering) physics or

applied mathematics?

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Applied Mathematics Mathematics and Physics Physics

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Think of mathematics as a language: a universal language that is capable of expressing

every statement that can be deduced logically from any stated set of axioms.

The job of the theoretical physicist, then, is to find the right subset of this mathematical

language, that is the right set of axioms, from which one can deduce statements that

closely match reality. The theoretical physicist works hand-in-hand with the experimental

physicist or the astronomer, who make ever more sophisticated observations of nature,

testing the theoretician's ability to find the correct subset of mathematics.

So in this (admittedly vastly oversimplified) picture, the mathematician provides the rules

of the language the theoretical physicist picks the bits of the language that describe

observations and the experimental physicist or astronomer supply the data (the actual

observations).

Written May 13, 2015 View Upvotes

Viktor Toth, author of many papers on gravity, played key role resolvi ng the Pioneer

anomaly670 Views Most Viewed Writer in Physics with 1290+ answers

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2/5

A2A

Although there is much overlap, they are fu ndamentally different subjects. Physics is a

body of knowledge of how systems in the natural world work, combining experimental

evidence with the models that explain them. Applied Mathematics is a branch of

mathematics that applies (often novel) mathematical techniques to model various

processes. So, physicists often useApplied Mathematics in theoretical work. But however

successful it is, it must be compared to an experiment in order to call it Physics.

This is actually why String Theory is considered by most serious physicists as Applied

Mathematics, rather than Physics. There is no experiment possible in our lifetime that can

confirm or deny String Theory.

Written May 7, 2015 View Upvotes Answer requested by Fahran Kamili

Daniel Merthe, Physics Ph.D. Candidate, University of Southern California

296 Views Most Viewed Writer in Mathematics and Physics

Upvote Downvote Comment3

No. There's more to physics than just mathematics. There's also a little thing called

experimental physics - you know, what most of the research funding in physics is actually

spent on.

There are physicists who are not even particularly good at mathematics at all.

Written May 7, 2015 View Upvotes

David Kahana, physicist unhinged

2.2k Views David has 750+ answers and 23 endorsements in Physics

Upvote Downvote Comments 1+31

No, Physics is an applicationof Applied Maths. It uses it as a tool. Physics is no more a

branch of maths than it is a branch of the Large Hadron Collider, an other tool of which

you may have heard.

Alan Bustany, Trinity Wrangler, Associate Fellow Institute of Mathematics and its

Applications

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3/5

Equally everythingthat involves any kind of formal reasoning is an application of

mathematics including engineering, perspective drawing, and philosophy. I guess a Maths

Dictator might call these all branches...


Upvote Downvote Comments 1+17

Physics is not mathematics at all. Then again, much of what is considered mathematics is

really something else. There is applied mathematics, and then there is the application of

mathematics (What is mathematics?).

I would say that science, as a whole, is an application of mathematics. Mathematics itself

stops when empirical observation begins. Mathematics is just the study of logical

consequence. We take a collection of axioms and see what we can derive from them. It is in

no way an attempt to describe reality, which is exactly what science, including physics,

tries to do.

How is it the application of mathematics? Even though it is not generally formalized,

model testing (testing theories) is really a process, developed through mathematical

reasoning. You are taking a collection of observations and testing them against a collection

of models. If the observations contradict the models, you have falsified the collection. So,

mathematics is used to create and understand the basic process and tools of science, as

well as other more specific tools for given fields. Probability theory, for instance, is u sed to

create a lot of useful tools for studying real world processes.

Written Oct 4, 2015

Daniel Goldman, B.S. in mathematics and mathematics tutor for 10+ years.

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A2A

When I was learning physics our study time was divided ( I'm estimating) about 50/50

between "physics" lectures and "mathematics" lectures. Moreover, many members of our

physics department actually got their first degree in mathematics, then went into physics.

Stephen Farrier, MA in Physics from University of Cambridge

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4/5

It was very common at that time.

So I would say, learningphysics was about 50% applied mathematics (but never 100%. )

Today there are areas of physics that are absolutely incomprehensible to me, because of the

mathematics involved - string theory is clearly an example. Also, very brilliant

mathematicians have been able to make progress in physics by, for example, finding

solutions to general relativity equations.

But most physicists are working in the real world, comparing theoretical predictions with

experimental data.

As such, I would say that when you are learning physics, a d isproportionate amount of it is

applied mathematics but actual work done and progress made in physics is very littledown to mathematics and much more down to experiments and observations.


Upvote Downvote Comment1

Physics uses mathematics, without maths physical phenomenon are hard(or impossible) to

understand and explain but that doesn't mean it is a branch of applied math. Going to

space, experimenting the nature of sound or dropping 2 different objects from piza tower

is physics and not applied math.

Written May 11, 2015

Sagun Shrestha, Student, Learner, Amature Programmer

162 Views


The math works as a language to express the concepts where it is necessary to quantify

something as measures for example.

Michael Faraday was a great chemist their hypotheses were interpreted in mathematical

form by maxwell

Written May 7, 2015

Luiz Eduardo

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Makarand Apte Physics my favorite subject during school days

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2 Answers Collapsed (Why?)

Physicsis toMathematics

what

Literature is to Grammar

Written May 13, 2015

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