Why is Physics important?

Engineering

There are many fields of engineering which are based upon the principles of Physics, these include:

Mechanical: encompasses the generation and application of heat and mechanical power and the design, production, and use of machine tools.
Civil: the study of building, structure and infrastructure
Aeronautical: study of flight and space flight
Electrical: deals with the technology of electricity, especially the design of equipment for power generation and distribution, machine control, and communication.
Structural: concerned with the design and construction of structures to withstand physical forces or damage.

Space and Weather

Space Physics is a fundamental part of the study of space weather and is significant in not only understanding the universe, but also to practical every-day life, including the operation of communications and weather satellites.

The basic idea of numerical weather prediction is to sample the state of a fluid (i.e. the atmosphere) at a given time. To do this the physical equations of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics are required to estimate the state of the fluid at some time in the future.

Medicine

Fundamental breakthroughs in Medical Physics are continuing to yield new technologies for identtifying and treating a range of diseases. For example, physics plays a significant role in areas such as radiotherapy, ultrasound, X-rays and Magnetic Resonance Imaging which uses the phenomenon of nuclear resonance to image the body.