I want to explain to you (viewers) why I am reading "The Feynman Lectures on Physics". I am reading this book for two main reasons: firstly, of course, to expand my understanding of physics (since my dream is to become an aerospace engineer and CEO of an aerospace company) beyond what is taught in school, and secondly to follow the mental and logical processes of the mind behind one of the people I admire as a role model. I am genuinely excited for the experience I would gain from this journey with Feynman's thoughts and teachings.
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What most fascinated me while reading and making notes on 'Chapter 1. Atoms in Motion' of the book was that Feynman always informs the reader 'why' he is explaining something, and how relevant it is to the bigger picture in general. He also consistently points out that any 'description' at this level may be an appropriate 'way' to model how something happens, but is rarely the case that it is the absolute truth; and although a certain way to describe something may not be the truth, it may be so appropriate to a certain condition that there is absolutely no problem with implementing that description or model to that condition (for example, implementing the principle of constant mass for objects that are so slow relative to the speed of light). Another thing I enjoyed was that he constantly mentions how the theory he is explaining is reflected in our real world as everyday phenomena. For example, how the 'holes' that form in the middle of the hexagonal structures of water molecules that form ice cause the greater density of liquid water than solid (ice) water. Also, Feynman's use of analogy, for instance describing a room full of tennis balls perpetually bouncing from wall to floor to ceiling to help visualize the atomic hypothesis, was also enjoyable.
Not many that I have learnt today in chapter 1 was 'new'. However, it was the way Feynman explained the contents that was intriguing. It got me used to the way Feynman talks. This would be very important, since there are not many pages left until I do get to learn things I am certainly not familiar with. Below are the notes I made today, and I will come back in part (2) of this where I will share my notes on 'Chapter 2. Basic Physics'.
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