strive merely
to understand the nature of the external stimuli that come to us
through touch, hearing and sight; but in mechanics, where we examine
critically the simplest ideas of motion and inertia, we acquire the
method of analysis which when applied to the mysteries of molecular
physics and electricity carries us along avenues that lead to the most
profound secrets of nature. Utilitarian aspects dwindle in our
perspective as we face the problem of the structure, origin, and
evolution of matter--as we question the independence of space and
time. Modern physics possesses philosophic stature of heroic size.

=Utilitarian value of the study Of physics=

But with regard to everyday occurrences a study of physics is
necessary. It is trite to mention the development in recent years of
those mechanical and electrical arts that have made modern
civilization. The submarine, vitalized by storage battery and Diesel
engine, the torpedo with its gyroscopic pilot and pneumatic motors,
the wireless transmission of speech over seas and continents--these
things no longer excite wonder nor claim attention as we scan the
morning paper; yet how many understand their mechanism or appreciate
the spirit which has given them to the world?

=Disciplinary value of the study=

If culture means the subjective transformation of information into a
philosophy of life, can culture be complete unless it has included in
its reflections the marvelously simple yet intricate interrelations
of natural phenomena? The value of this intricate simplicity as a
mental discipline is equaled perhaps only in the finely drawn
distinctions of philosophy and in the painstaking statements of
limitations and the rapid generalizations of pure mathematics; and let
us not forget the value of discipline, outgrown and unheeded though it
be in the acquisitive life of the present age.

=Relation of physics to philosophy and the exact sciences=

The professional student, continually increasing in numbers in our
colleges, either of science or in certain branches of law, finds a
broad familiarity with the latest points of view of the physicist not
only helpful but often indispensable. Chemistry can find with
difficulty any artificial basis for a boundary of its domain from that
of physics. Certainly no real one exists. The biologist is heard
asking about the latest idea in atomic evolution and the electrical
theories of matter, hoping to find in these illuminating points