These are the moments physicists live for. Physics also is essential to the applied science and engineering that has taken our world from the horse and the buggy to the supersonic jet, from the candle to the laser, from the pony express to the fax, from the beads of an abacus to the chips of a computer. Today physics is as exciting as ever. The animated conversation between physicists and nature goes on and it shows no sign of stopping. The most basic of the sciences, physics, is all around us every day.
Physicists like to ask questions.
If you like to explore and figure out why things are the way they are, you might like physics. Physicists studying sound contribute to the design of concert halls and the amplication equipment. Knowing more about how things move and interact can be used to manage the flow of traffic and help cities avoid gridlock. Lasers and radioactive elements are tools in the war on cancer and other diseases. Geophysicists are developing methods to give advance warning of earthquakes.