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Physics

physical science Maturity 9-11 Vital Level 2 Next article →

Physics is the study of how our world works. It looks at matter and its tiny parts. It also studies how things move through space and time.

Stylised atom with three Bohr model orbits and stylised nucleus
Stylised atom with three Bohr model orbits and stylised nucleus

This science explores energy and force to explain everything. A person who studies this is called a physicist. Physics is one of the most important scientific fields. It helps us understand the very rules of nature.

Modernphysicsfields
Modernphysicsfields

How does physics work in our daily lives? It follows a step-by-step way of looking at the world. Scientists use observation and tests to find patterns. For example, they look at how objects fall. They also study how light travels in straight lines.

This helps them build new tools. Understanding electromagnetism led to the creation of televisions and computers. Studying thermodynamics helped start the age of industry. Even the math called calculus grew from studying motion.

People have studied nature for a very long time. Long ago, people in Mesopotamia and Egypt watched the stars.

Senenmut-Grab
Senenmut-Grab

They saw the sun and moon move in patterns. In ancient Greece, thinkers like Aristotle wrote about physics. He believed everything was made of four elements. He thought fire, air, water, and earth had natural places.

Aristotle Altemps Inv8575
Aristotle Altemps Inv8575

Later, Islamic scholars made big discoveries in optics. They studied how light rays work using controlled experiments.

History changed greatly during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century. Scientists began using math and tests to find real laws. Johannes Kepler studied how planets move between 1609 and 1619.

JKepler
JKepler

Isaac Newton discovered the laws of motion and gravity. He also helped develop calculus to solve physical problems.

GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689
GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689

In the 1900s, physics changed again with modern ideas. Max Planck started quantum theory to explain tiny things. Albert Einstein created the theory of relativity for very fast objects.

Einstein1921 by F Schmutzer 2
Einstein1921 by F Schmutzer 2

Today, we divide physics into two main groups. Classical physics explains things we see every day. This includes big objects moving at slow speeds.

Atwood-machine
Atwood-machine

Modern physics explains the very small or very fast. Quantum mechanics studies tiny particles like electrons.

Doubleslitexperiment
Doubleslitexperiment

Relativity explains how space and time work. These ideas help us understand the whole universe. We even found the Higgs boson particle at CERN in 2012.

CMS Higgs-event
CMS Higgs-event
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File:Modernphysicsfields.svg
Modernphysicsfields.svg
File:Stylised atom with three Bohr model orbits and stylised nucleus.svg
Stylised atom with three Bohr model...
File:Atwood-machine.svg
Atwood-machine.svg
File:Doubleslitexperiment.svg
Doubleslitexperiment.svg
File:Pinhole-camera.svg
Pinhole-camera.svg
File:Hubble ultra deep field high rez edit1.jpg
Hubble ultra deep field high rez edit1.jpg
File:Virmalised 18.03.15 (4).jpg
Virmalised 18.03.15 (4).jpg
File:Bruce McCandless II during EVA in 1984.jpg
Bruce McCandless II during EVA in 1984.jpg
File:Pahoeoe fountain original.jpg
Pahoeoe fountain original.jpg
File:Military laser experiment.jpg
Military laser experiment.jpg
File:Senenmut-Grab.JPG
Senenmut-Grab.JPG
File:Justus Sustermans - Portrait of Galileo Galilei, 1636.jpg
Justus Sustermans - Portrait of Galileo...

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