<p>Why does engineering emphasize Physics so much--probably moreso than other sciences?</p>
<p>What is it about Physics that makes it so closely related to Engineering?</p>
<p>Why does law emphasizes with politics, why does medicine emphasizes in biology, why do social workers focus in humanities, why does blah blah blah?</p>
<p>Physics is a tool that an engineer uses on an daily basis, thats why we emphasize on it</p>
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Ding ding ding! </p>
<p>/thread</p>
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It depends on the engineering field. I work as an engineering and haven’t used anything covered in physics classes in years. However, I use topics covered in my intro CS class on a daily basis. </p>
<p>I consider it a foundation, which is built on to study certain higher level areas of engineering. This fits with Physics classes being listed as a prerequisite for certain higher level engineering classes. The same could be said for math, computer science, or just about any non-engineering classes that is a requirement for the major (rather than a general requirement for all majors).</p>
<p>I feel like there are really two questions here. First, physics is essentially the study of matter and its interactions with other matter. As it turns out, everything is made of matter. So pick another science of your choice, any other science will do, and you’ll see that at the root of things, that science is also based on physics. The laws of chemistry are rooted in physics. Biology is largely based on chemistry, which is based on physics. Geology? Physics.</p>
<p>In the end, physics is the study of the laws of nature and engineering is the act of using the laws of nature in order to accomplish some useful task. Naturally, then, understanding physics is paramount to being an engineer.</p>
<p>Physics covers a broad range of fields which form the basis for just about all areas of engineering. Mechanics and dynamics are the basis of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering. Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics are the base for Chemical Engineering. Electrodynamics leads to Electrical Engineering. Quantum mechanics is the basis for nanotechnology and photonics. Even computer science has a a connection since the first computers were invented to do physics calculations.</p>
<p>Clearly each established engineering field has built on the fundamentals of physics and extended its knowledge base well beyond what physics can tell you about the field. However, as a student you need to start with the fundamentals and that means physics is a requirement. Does an engineer do physics on a regular basis? No, however, an engineering researcher often does and you can find Ph.D. physicists in engineering departments and vice versa. At that level, there is very little distinction these days since research has become very interdisciplinary.</p>
<p>Physics describes how the real world works. For engineers creating things that must function in the real world, they must design things to handle real world stresses and use other things in nature to their advantage. Thus, physics is important for designing things that will work in the real world!</p>
<p>Engineers need a good foundational knowledge of math, physics, and chemistry in order to take the engineering classes. You use physical laws and apply equations to solve for variables.</p>