The Physics of Limits (Journal Article)

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Abstract-

Physics offers a solid foundation upon which to build simple yet powerful perspectives on challenges we face inhabiting a finite planet. This work offers suggestions for framing the human endeavor in the contexts of space, time, energy, and ecology, as well as hinting at productive order-of-magnitude calculations that students can use to gain powerful insights into constraints within which we must operate.

Tools from the physical sciences can be employed to clarify demands associated with expansion of modernity within a finite resource environment. Our complex world can appear to be primarily governed by human constructs in political, legal, ethical, and social domains. Yet underneath it all is an uncompromising biophysical foundation upon which all other constructs rest. It is as easy to neglect this ever-present backdrop as it is to take for granted the air we breathe.

Physics has the benefit of being able to cut through the baffling tangle of human fabrications to offer stark and incontrovertible truths that can help us appreciate a bigger picture. Often, order-of-magnitude estimates are sufficient to expose important features of the world, without having to obsess over distracting minutiae. This paper sketches a variety of examples that may inspire the application of similar approaches to related questions.