The New Physics by Fritjof Capra - summary
Physics is the branch of natural science that deals with the things like motion energy, space, time, force, etc. In 1900, when a number of revolutionary new concepts about the nature of matter were proposed there comes a division in the field of physics and divided into classical and modern physics.
At the beginning of modern physics, there is a great role of Albert Einstein's intellectuality. Einstein strongly believed in nature's inherent ( inborn) harmony. Throughout his scientific life, his keen interest was to find a unified foundation (base) of physics. He set out toward this goal by building a common framework for electrodynamics and mechanics. These are two separate theories of classical physics. This framework is known as the special theory of relativity according to which time and distance are not absolute. It brought a change in the traditional concepts of space and time and thus weakened one of the foundations of the Newtonian world view.
In 1905 he published two articles one is the above given special theory of relativity (ten years later he included gravity in it and proposed this theory as general theory of relativity) another is the theory of atomic phenomena - it was a new way of looking at electromagnetic radiation which was to become characteristic of quantum theory. Relativity theory was almost entirely completed by Einstein. However, the complete quantum theory was worked out twenty years later by a whole team of physicists. these articles revolutionized scientific thoughts and changed the way people view space, time, mass, and energy. Einstein's scientific papers are intellectual monuments that mark the beginning of twentieth-century thought.
Experimental investigation of atoms in the 20th century brought other major development, physicists discovered several phenomena connected with the structure of atoms, such as X-rays and radioactivity which were unimaginable in terms of classical physics.
In the history of physics, Darwin and Copernicus gave the revolutionary theory which introduced great changes in the general understanding of the universe and shocked many people. In the 20th century for the first time, physicists faced a serious challenge to their ability to understand the universe. They had struggled to understand the strange and unexpected reality revealed to them in their exploration of atomic and subatomic phenomena, their way of thinking, basic concepts, language were insufficient to describe atomic phenomena. Later they realized that paradoxes are encountered whenever one tries to describe atomic phenomena in terms of the classical concept. Then they began to learn to ask nature the right question in atomic experiments to avoid contradictions.
Finally, they found the mathematical formulation of quantum theory but its conceptual framework was not easy to accept. The foundation of physics had begun moving. A consistent, organic, holistic, and ecological world view is now emerging. This view is being discussed by scientists who are deeply interested in the philosophical implications of modern physics. The universe is no longer seen as a Machine, made up of a multitude of objects (mechanistic Cartesian view of the world) but has to be pictured as one indivisible, dynamic whole whose parts are essentially interrelated. In the end, Capra tries to bring together science and physics because both are observations. However, Physicists derive their knowledge from experiments and mystics from meditative insights. Mystical thoughts provide a consistent and relevant philosophical background to the theories of contemporary science.
Please read the textbook for the right ideas. The ideas presented here are not complete and may misguide you.
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