I wonder why...

I loved writing. Specially my diary. Anne Frank is solely responsible for that. Unfortunately, after writing for almost a decade, more than a decade has passed since I wrote something in my diary. This blog is a desperate attempt to revive that - something I thought publishers would be queuing up for:-)

Friday, December 22, 2006

Looking at things - ab initio

I was re-reading one of my all-time favourites -- Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman. It's been a favourite for a long time -- ever since I got hooked to Physics. In fact, after Yakov Perelman's Physics Can Be Fun, this is perhaps my favourite book on my favourite subject. The first time I read Surely...was more than a decade back -- when I just started majoring in Physics. In the years that passed by, I must have read it at least a dozen times. But this time, it was different. I was reading the book after almost 4 years. And to my surprise and joy, the whole perspective had changed!

The last few times I read the book, it was more to know about the curious adventures of the Physicist-cum-drummer-cum-teacher and to laugh and enjoy. But this time the feeling was about relating to the thoughts, finding analogies in my own life and, of course, thanking my decision of studying (whatever little it may be) the world's best subject - Physics.

Not sure how many of you feel this way, but somehow I have always been interested in looking at things from the very basics. So if it was the prized record player that my father had, I head to open it up and fiddle with the amplifier and stylus. If it was our car, I had to open the bonnette and see what was inside. And if it was the television, I had to know how it operated. And this was not limited to gadgets -- even simple stuff like a tap, a valve, safety pin...the basics of anything and everything appealed to me. Back in school, I was not able to figure out the exact science behind everything, but I could at least find out how it happened. So while I couldn't understand how the petrol engine operated, I could at least figure out how the petrol reached the engine from the tank, how the spark plugs set fire to the engine and how the brake shoes stopped the car!

When I started studying Physics, I got a scientific explanation for all those things. So I started applying Physics to everything in my life. If I had walk on two arms of a rectangle, I would rather walk diagonally. Why? That would mean the least distance travelled and thus less energy spent. In other words, I would be reaching my destination with less work! Similarly, a look at the exhaust fan in the kitchen would leave me wondering about the applicability of Bernoulli's Principle! About how any fluid would be drawn towards an area of low pressure. And why red lights were used in traffic signals and tail-lights of vehicles! Since the wave length of the red light was maximum, it could travel the most distance!

And of course, MLT -- the basic formula of anything and everything under the sun.

And, standing today 34 summers after I came to live, I am proud that I studied Physics. I am thankful that I read Perelman and Feynman. And, I am happy that I look at things ab-initio.