Honestly, is there really a point to learning any kind of physics

>>7950127
Every field starts out as an impractical mess. Do you think people realised what could be achieved with nuclear physics people started exploring it?

Without branching out into new areas we'd never make progress.

>>7950155
You suppose that all of these branches lead somewhere. Sooner or later you hit a dead end. What possible application could shit like n-verse or string theory have, practically? Almost none that I can think of. Not to mention it hasn't fucking gotten anywhere in 30 years.

At least the branches I named are "useful," even to the layman.

>>7950169
Then don't study them, nobody's forcing you. Now get off /sci/.

>>7950127
>astrophysics is irrelevant
>quantum mechanics is irrelevant
>fluid dynamics is irrelevant
>environmental physics is irrelevant
>relativity is irrelevant (top kek)

Oh wait, they're all relevant, useful and straight up important to everyday life now.

>>7950183
>astrophysics
Can basically be lumped in with classical physics. But there is little practical application beyond giving us a heads up if an asteroid is coming
>quantum mechanics
Yes, the flavors and spins of quarks and gluons affect John Smith and his wife in the suburb immensely.
>fluid dynamics
This is important, I'll give you that. I should have included obvious things like that in the OP. I'm talking more about abstractly vague and theoretical fields.
>environmental physics
Literally never heard of it, sounds like a made-up "eco-friendly" major they plugged in so hippies could get a degree in something other than gender studies and feel good about themselves.
>relativity
Is pretty much irrelevant, yes. Last time I checked, I never got anywhere near the speed of light, so I don't really give a shit. It's useful for people who fuck around with things like GPS satellites, yeah.

In conclusion, nearly every branch of physics that has developed past the 1940s has been utterly useless.

>>7950196
>lumped in with classical physics
You can have that one

>effect commoners
Ever heard of semiconductors? We're reaching levels of miniaturization in electronics that require accounting for quantum effects. It's also important in chemistry.

>never heard of it
Relatively new field, but it's purpose is in dealing with atmospheric effects that disrupt communications and electrical systems, so, you know, relevant

>relativity irrelevant
Satellites have to take time dilation into account in order to keep time with the earth. Turns out that's rather important for literally everything satellites do.

>>7950207
>semiconductors
Alright, I'll give you that as well. Quantum computing will affect everybody soon enough.
>environmental physics
That just sound like an application of several fields of physics to a specific purpose, sort of like engineering. It isn't a separate field of its own. It's like saying "ocean physics," which would just be focusing specifically on how the already established fields of physics affect the oceans.
>satellites
That's why I said that other than things like GPS satellites, which have to take a small amount of time dilation into account, there is very little real-world application of relativity to most people. At least not until we create spacecraft capable of traveling close enough to the speed of light to facilitate space colonization. And there's a good chance that accomplishing that is impossible.

there's pretty much a point in learning anything

>>7950127
>what is GPS
>what are optical diffraction gratings
>what is quantum computing

8/10 fell for the bait

>>7950169
So what you're saying is: As long as we don't know for sure that a branch of physics has practical applications we shouldn't try to conduct research in it.

>>7950230
I think he's saying that as long as a layman who knows nothing about a given theory can't think of a practical application, the people responsible for the theory shouldn't continue to research it.

>>7950196
>Yes, the flavors and spins of quarks and gluons affect John Smith and his wife in the suburb immensely.
LMAO
MAOL
AOLM
OLMA

>what are the last two decades of rational drug design

>>7950261
Please don't turn this into a straw man, I want to understand his line of thinking.

>>7950445
It's unclear, he's hinting that some fields are obviously theoretic and serves nothing in the practical world, but then he fails to see the importance of quantum mechanics, which is gaining a lot of speed in EE and CS fields, he somehow doesn't see why relativity is extremely crucial for satellites and so on.

I think that what he's saying is, as long as we can't think of something useful to use this X theory in, we shouldn't research it.

>>7950127

Nigger you can't seriously be this retarded. Without QM we wouldn't have any solid state physics (which means no semiconductors, superconductors)

>>7950127
This whining gets old really quick, it belongs to the same category as: everything is already invented, I was born too early or too late. Everyone else has possibilities but people living in current time. Or maybe you are just blind to the possibilities. Maybe you only understand things that have been simplified and explained to you.

>>7950127
What about simulations and shit? How do you think they'd created Wendelstein 7X?

>>7950155
Nuclear physics got useful really fucking fast.
>>7950183
Fluid mech is basically newtonian or at least lagrangian.
Yeah he missed out relativity and quantum though
>>7951016
When it comes to engineering I'm with you that /sci/ whines way too much considering what we have today but he is right that physics has been completely dead for 30 years.

>>7950263
Or the last 70 years of semiconductor electronics.

>>7950127
>The only physics you need are Newtonian, optics, and electricity. And nuclear

What's wrong with analytical mechanics, solid state physics, thermal physics, continuum mechanics, relativity and atomic physics?

>>7950219
If you're gonna say "well it's useless except for GPS" then you might as well admit that its useful

>>7950127
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't technology getting to the point that electrons can just quantum tunnel through a transistor? If we want more power in our computers, we may need to start delving into quantum computers

ITT: "I don't know shit so everyone else must just be stupid"

>>7950127
>not wanting to have the largest tool box possible
if you don't like it, don't read it. we keep these nerds around because they are usually 50 years ahead of the engineering.

who cares if most of it is garbage? storage space is cheap and these little niggers work for peanuts. the few useful things we pull from their pile of mind spunk are worth the cost.

Why the fuck is thermodynamics useless? Also Newton is a fag.

>>7951871

>physics has been completely dead for 30 years

Gee, how's the end of freshman year treating ya?

>>7950127
They're all fucking cool and I wish I could do them.

Especially the crazy particle related shit.

Fuck your shitty opinion.

>>7952279
Name five significant new development in physics since 1986.

>>7952315
Gravitational waves
Quantum computers
Dark matter
How your mother doesnt collapse into a black hole
Fuck you

>>7952322
>Gravitational waves
Confirmation of a 1916 theory
>Quantum computers
Engineering work based on a 1927 theory
>Dark matter
Doesn't exist.

>>7952357
>Confirmation of a 1916 theory
Einstein also said we'd never be able to detect them

>electricity
This is such a broad field, it would be like me saying what's the point of engineering, their only field of study is engineering

>>7950127
nobody cares what you think