Physics – basics

In this section, we will learn some basic notions of physics, to better understand the Physics engine of Unity later on, and overall become better game developers.

First of all, what is physics? Aristotle (the same guy from the previous chapter) wrote a treatise entitled ta physika, which literally means the natural things. From this treatise (although many before Aristotle have written about natural phenomena), physics has become a science. Nowadays, physics investigates matter, its motion both in time and space, through mathematical models. Ultimately, the goal of physics is to describe how the whole universe works. Physics is divided into four big branches:

• Classical mechanics: This deals with the motion of objects

• Thermodynamics: This deals with the temperatures of bodies

• Electromagnetism: This deals with electromagnetic waves/particles

• Quantum mechanics: This deals with the study of subatomic particles

You don't need to see these as separate entities but just faces of the...