physics

Phyllis Mary Nicol

Phyllis Mary Nicol is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Phyllis Mary Nicol rather than just read about it. In short: Phyllis Mary Nicol (2 March 1903 – 13 June 1964) was an Australian physics professor who taught at the University of Sydney's physics department. Life Nicol was born in Wollongong's seaside suburb of Thirroul in 1903.

Key takeaways

Phyllis Mary Nicol belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Phyllis Mary Nicol to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Phyllis Mary Nicol from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Phyllis Mary Nicol (2 March 1903 – 13 June 1964) was an Australian physics professor who taught at the University of Sydney's physics department.

Life Nicol was born in Wollongong's seaside suburb of Thirroul in 1903. She was the first child of Florence (Reeves) and Walter George Phillip Nicol, a bullocky. She attended North Sydney Girls High School, before studying physics at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1926. She did research on the properties of selenium which was published in 1926. She and a fellow demonstrator at the university, Edgar Booth wrote a textbook together about physics for high school students. Their book, Physics, Fundamental Laws and Principles with Problems and Worked Solutions was published in 1931. She was still living at the Women's College and in 1933 she became its sub-principal. She was known as Philly Nic and for being a spinster in a hurry and dressing without care. Conversely she told her students that they would gain confidence if they dressed smartly for examinations. Nicol was undervalued and overlooked. The leading cricketer Betty Archdale was the college's principal from 1946 and she also served on the university's senate. Harry Messel joined the University of Sydney as Professor of physics in 1952 and in that year Nicol applied to be a senior lecturer. Her application was unsuccessful. All the department's staff designated as temporary had their grades assessed by a senate committee in 1953. Messel wrote well of Nicol's ability to coach students but he did not consider her a lecturer. In the same year she had a mastectomy. She left the Women's College in 1954, and her position as sub-principal, to move to the Sydney suburb of Lane Cove to live with her sister.

Death and legacy Nicol's physics 1931 book with Edgar Booth achieved its 16th edition in 1962. She died in her home in Lane Cove in 1964 of cancer. She had resigned from the department, that she had joined in 1921 as a student, a few days before her death.

References

External links Biography at ADB

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Phyllis Mary Nicol

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Phyllis Mary Nicol claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Phyllis Mary Nicol before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Phyllis Mary Nicol ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Phyllis Mary Nicol

In research: Phyllis Mary Nicol appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Phyllis Mary Nicol in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Phyllis Mary Nicol is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1903 births, 1964 deaths, Australian physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Phyllis Mary Nicol outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Phyllis Mary Nicol in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Phyllis Mary Nicol means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Phyllis Mary Nicol out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Phyllis Mary Nicol in simple terms?

Phyllis Mary Nicol (2 March 1903 – 13 June 1964) was an Australian physics professor who taught at the University of Sydney's physics department. Life Nicol was born in Wollongong's seaside suburb of Thirroul in 1903.

Why does Phyllis Mary Nicol matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Phyllis Mary Nicol?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Phyllis Mary Nicol.