the tao of physics

The term physics is derived from the Greek word phys-is and meant therefore originally, the endeavor of seeing the essential nature of all things.

physics versus mysticism: 

"like human body relies on oxygen to breathe, the universe relies on cosmic breath"

Hylozism gives life to all matter and shows no difference between spirit and matter.

we've had Aristotelian , Newton, Confucius and Galileo's doctrines, all were followed. but the fundamental laws of nature searched for by the scientists were thus seen as the laws of god, invariable and eternal, to which the world was subjected.

western mysticism:

It follows a mechanistic approach, equate their identity with their mind instead of with their whole organism. The perceived world is divided into individual and separate things, and each person experiences a separate ego, this in Buddhism is called avidya or the state of ignorance, the state of the disturbed mind which has to be overcome. The divine power is the ruler who controls everything from above.

eastern mysticism:

It follows an organic approach, emphasis is laid on unity of the universe which is the central feature of all teachings. Time and change are the essential features. the divine power is the principle that controls everything from within.

knowledge: there are 2 kinds---rational and intuitive compared with science and religion.

socrates(west): "i know that i know nothing."

lao tze(east): "not knowing that one knows is best."

In physics, knowledge is acquired by scientific research in 3 stages: gathering experimental evidence, correlation with mathematical symbols (making models) and finally to know how to use it to predict experiments.

The rational part of knowledge would in fact be useless if it were not complemented by the intuition that gives scientists new insights and makes them creative. Mathematical mysticism was also developing to give an idea about nature( language of encryption, symbols, formula and abstraction )

Pythagoras: "all things are numbers."

Absolute knowledge is an entirely non-intellectual experience of reality, an experience arising in a non-uniform state of consciousness which may be called a meditative state of consciousness which may be called a meditative or mystical state. This has been proved by psychological research.

The seeing plays an important role in Buddhist epistemology, for seeing is the basis of knowing. knowing is impossible without seeing, all knowledge has it's origin in seeing. Seeing is experiencing enlightenment.

In our everyday life, direct intuitive insights into the nature of things are normally limited to the extremely brief moments...eg: jokes. Not so in eastern mysticism where they are extended to long periods and ultimately become a constant awareness and thereby reach the stage of enlightenment. 

Albert Einstein: "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

"Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth that can be stated in words."

Zen Buddhists have a particular knack for making a virtue out of the inconsistencies arising from a verbal communication, and with the koan system (paradoxical riddles) they have developed a unique way of transmitting their teachings completely non-verbally.

how can electromagnetic radiation consist of particles and waves simultaneously?, neither language nor imagination could deal with this kind of reality very well. the atomic and sub-atomic world lies beyond our sensory perceptions. the completely unique, non-sensory experience of reality makes us abandon more and more of the images and concepts of ordinary language.

classical physics: 

Newtons mechanical model of the universe constituted the solid framework of classical physics. absolute space, in its own nature, without regard to anything external, remains always similar and immovable. Time flows uniformly without regard to anything external. In mathematical equations external objects were treated as mass points between which there existed a force depending only on the masses and the mutual distances of the particles. Through 18th and 19th centuries Newtonian laws could explain thermal phenomena, the solar system etc. These laws were seen as the basic laws of nature, and newtons theory of mechanics was considered to be the ultimate theory of natural phenomena. Hence everyone believed that universe was a mechanistic model.

Faraday and maxwell gave a complete theory of electromagnetism. Instead of interpreting the interaction between a positive and negative charge simply by saying that the 2 charges attract each other like 2 masses in Newtonian mechanics, Faraday and maxwell found it more appropriate to say that each charge creates a disturbance or a condition in the space around it so that the other charge, when it is present feels a force. This condition in space which has the potential of producing a force is called field.

This is the theory of electrodynamics which showed light as the field traveling through space in the form of waves. Maxwell explained the field as the states of mechanical stress in a very light space filling medium called ether, and the EM waves as the elastic waves of this ether. The fundamental elements in this theory were the fields and not the mechanical elements.

Albert Einstein: "no ether existed and EM fields were physical entities in their own right which could travel through empty space and could not be explained mechanically."

Modern physics:

Common framework for electrodynamics and mechanics came to be known as special theory of relativity. In relativity theory we never talk about space without talking about time and vice versa, because both are intimately connected and form a four-dimensional continuum,"space-time". Both space and time become merely elements of the language a particular observer uses to describe an observed phenomena, absolute space and absolute time do not exist because they occur in different temporal sequences to different observers.

E=MC^2, relates energy and mass of every object. The constant c, is of fundamental importance in the special theory of relativity. General theory of relativity is the framework of special theory but with the inclusion of gravity. Three dimensional space is curved and this curvature is caused by the gravitation field of massive bodies. further, max plank and Einstein postulated that light and every other form of electromagnetic radiation can appear not only as electromagnetic waves but also in the form of quanta, which were packets of energy. These were massless particles always traveling with the speed of light and were called photons.

Quantum effect also explained the solid nature of matter. whenever a particle is confined to a small region of space, it reacts to this confinement by moving around , and smaller the region of confinement, the faster will be the motion of the particle.. Hence these high velocities within an atom make it a solid propeller disc. Furthermore, quantum numbers and photons threw light on the energy levels and excited states of atoms.

In modern physics, the universe is experienced as a dynamic, inseparable whole which always includes the observer in an essential way.

Source: http://apurooppn.blogspot.com/2010/07/tao-of-physics.html