Congratulations to Sumayyah who won the Highly Commended Award for the Aged 16 category. Sumayyah authored a poem exploring how through the ages scientists have used physics to solve the biggest universal mysteries . Take a look at their cover letter below:
Can Physics help us solve mysteries? Yes, Physics can and has done countless times in the past! Without physics, everything would be a mystery because Physics is the study of everything! Technically, it’s ‘the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy.’ Everything is made of matter, and energy is what runs everything in the universe, so, in other words, Physics is the study of everything. It therefore helps us solve all types of mysteries. As my poem shows, through the ages scientists have used Physics to solve the biggest universal mysteries – natural processes on Earth, how the universe was created, outer space (black holes, distant stars, mystical realms!) But Physics is not just about the big things, it also deals with the very very tiny, and in between! Physics helps us understand microscopic atoms to even smaller quarks and discovering the smallest building blocks of life, and more ordinary everyday things like how a see-saw works, or push-pins, water pumps, electricity, forensics for solving crimes, why we don’t fall through our chairs and how glasses help me see!I hope you enjoy my poem about physics and the geniuses who solved mysteries using it!