ART

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to physics:

Physics – natural science that involves the study of matter[1] and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force.[2] More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.[3][4][5]

What type of subject is physics?

Physics can be described as all of the following:

Branches of physics

History of physics

History of physics – history of the physical science that studies matter and its motion through space-time, and related concepts such as energy and force

General concepts of physics
Basic principles of physics

Physics – branch of science that studies matter[9] and its motion through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force.[10] Physics is one of the "fundamental sciences" because the other natural sciences (like biology, geology etc.) deal with systems that seem to obey the laws of physics. According to physics, the physical laws of matter, energy and the fundamental forces of nature govern the interactions between particles and physical entities (such as planets, molecules, atoms or the subatomic particles). Some of the basic pursuits of physics, which include some of the most prominent developments in modern science in the last millennium, include:

Gravity, light, physical system, physical observation, physical quantity, physical state, physical unit, physical theory, physical experiment

Theoretical concepts Mass–energy equivalence, particle, physical field, physical interaction, physical law, fundamental force, physical constant, wave
Measurement

Measurement
SI units
Conversion of units
Length
Time
Mass
Density

Motion

Motion
Velocity
Speed
Acceleration
Constant acceleration
Newton's laws of motion

Overview

Physics This is a list of the primary theories in physics, major subtopics, and concepts.

Note: the Theory column below contains links to articles with infoboxes at the top of their respective pages which list the major concepts.

Theory Major subtopics Concepts
Classical mechanics Newton's laws of motion, Lagrangian mechanics, Hamiltonian mechanics, kinematics, statics, dynamics, chaos theory, acoustics, fluid dynamics, continuum mechanics Density, dimension, gravity, space, time, motion, length, position, velocity, acceleration, mass, momentum, force, energy, angular momentum, torque, conservation law, harmonic oscillator, wave, work, power
Electromagnetism Electrostatics, electrodynamics, electricity, magnetism, Maxwell's equations, optics Capacitance, electric charge, electric current, electrical conductivity, electric field, electric permittivity, electrical resistance, electromagnetic field, electromagnetic induction, electromagnetic radiation, Gaussian surface, magnetic field, magnetic flux, magnetic monopole, magnetic permeability
Theory of relativity Special relativity, general relativity, Einstein field equations Covariance, Einstein manifold, equivalence principle, four-momentum, four-vector, general principle of relativity, geodesic motion, gravity, gravitoelectromagnetism, inertial frame of reference, invariance, length contraction, Lorentzian manifold, Lorentz transformation, metric, Minkowski diagram, Minkowski space, principle of relativity, proper length, proper time, reference frame, rest energy, rest mass, relativity of simultaneity, spacetime, special principle of relativity, speed of light, stress–energy tensor, time dilation, twin paradox, world line
Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics Heat engine, kinetic theory Boltzmann's constant, conjugate variables, enthalpy, entropy, equation of state, equipartition theorem, first law of thermodynamics, free energy, heat, ideal gas law, internal energy, irreversible process, partition function, pressure, reversible process, second law of thermodynamics, spontaneous process, state function, statistical ensemble, temperature, thermodynamic equilibrium, thermodynamic potential, thermodynamic processes, thermodynamic state, thermodynamic system, third law of thermodynamics, viscosity, zeroth law of thermodynamics
Quantum mechanics Path integral formulation, scattering theory, Schrödinger equation, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics Adiabatic approximation, correspondence principle, free particle, Hamiltonian, Hilbert space, identical particles, matrix mechanics, Planck's constant, operators, quanta, quantization, quantum entanglement, quantum harmonic oscillator, quantum number, quantum tunneling, Schrödinger's cat, Dirac equation, spin, wavefunction, wave mechanics, wave–particle duality, zero-point energy, Pauli exclusion principle, Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Concepts by field

Field Subfields Major theories Concepts
Particle physics Accelerator physics, nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, particle astrophysics, particle physics phenomenology Standard Model, quantum field theory, quantum chromodynamics, electroweak theory, effective field theory, lattice field theory, lattice gauge theory, gauge theory, supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theory, superstring theory, M-theory Fundamental force (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak, strong), elementary particle, spin, antimatter, spontaneous symmetry breaking, brane, string, quantum gravity, theory of everything, vacuum energy
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic physics, molecular physics, atomic and molecular astrophysics, chemical physics, optics, photonics Quantum optics, quantum chemistry, quantum information science Atom, molecule, diffraction, electromagnetic radiation, laser, polarization, spectral line, Casimir effect
Condensed matter physics Solid state physics, high pressure physics, low-temperature physics, nanoscale and mesoscopic physics, polymer physics BCS theory, Bloch wave, Fermi gas, Fermi liquid, many-body theory Phases (gas, liquid, solid, Bose–Einstein condensate, superconductor, superfluid), electrical conduction, magnetism, self-organization, spin, spontaneous symmetry breaking
Astrophysics Cosmology, gravitation physics, high-energy astrophysics, planetary astrophysics, plasma physics, space physics, stellar astrophysics Big Bang, Lambda-CDM model, cosmic inflation, general relativity, law of universal gravitation Black hole, cosmic background radiation, cosmic string, cosmos, dark energy, dark matter, galaxy, gravity, gravitational radiation, gravitational singularity, planet, Solar System, star, supernova, universe

Lists

Index of physics articles

List of common physics notations
List of equations in classical mechanics
List of important publications in physics
List of laws in science
List of letters used in mathematics and science
List of noise topics
List of optical topics
List of physicists
List of physics journals
List of scientific units named after people
Index of wave articles
Variables commonly used in physics

See also

Category:Concepts in physics
Category:Physics-related lists
Elementary physics formulae
Glossary of classical physics
List of physics concepts in primary and secondary education curricula

Notes

Richard Feynman begins his Lectures with the atomic hypothesis, as his most compact statement of all scientific knowledge: "If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generations ..., what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is ... that all things are made up of atoms – little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another. ..." R. P. Feynman; R. B. Leighton; M. Sands (1963). The Feynman Lectures on Physics. 1. p. I-2. ISBN 978-0-201-02116-5.
J. C. Maxwell (1878). Matter and Motion. D. Van Nostrand. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-486-66895-6. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular succession of events."
H.D. Young; R.A. Freedman (2004). University Physics with Modern Physics (11th ed.). Addison Wesley. p. 2. "Physics is an experimental science. Physicists observe the phenomena of nature and try to find patterns and principles that relate these phenomena. These patterns are called physical theories or, when they are very well established and of broad use, physical laws or principles."
S. Holzner (2006). Physics for Dummies. Wiley. p. 7. Bibcode:2005pfd..book.....H. ISBN 978-0-470-61841-7. "Physics is the study of your world and the world and universe around you."
Note: The term 'universe' is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. However, the term 'universe' may also be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting concepts such as the cosmos or the philosophical world.
Edmund Taylor Whittaker (1904). A Treatise on the Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies. Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1. ISBN 978-0-521-35883-5.
Joseph Stiles Beggs (1983). Kinematics. Taylor & Francis. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-89116-355-8.
Thomas Wallace Wright (1896). Elements of Mechanics Including Kinematics, Kinetics and Statics. E and FN Spon. Chapter 1.
At the start of The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Richard Feynman offers the atomic hypothesis as the single most prolific scientific concept: "If, in some cataclysm, all [] scientific knowledge were to be destroyed [save] one sentence [...] what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is [...] that all things are made up of atoms – little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another ..." (Feynman, Leighton & Sands 1963, p. I-2)

"Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular succession of events." (Maxwell 1878, p. 9)

Works cited

Feynman, R.P.; Leighton, R.B.; Sands, M. (1963). The Feynman Lectures on Physics. 1. ISBN 978-0-201-02116-5.
Maxwell, J.C. (1878). Matter and Motion. D. Van Nostrand. ISBN 978-0-486-66895-6. "matter and motion."

External links

AIP.org is the website of the American Institute of Physics
IOP.org is the website of the Institute of Physics
APS.org is the website of the American Physical Society
SPS National is the website of the American Society of Physics Students
CAP.ca is the website of the Canadian Association of Physicists
EPS.org is the website of the European Physical Society
Meta Institute for Computational Physics - Popular Talks
ScienceMathMastery - Compilation of YouTube Physics Courses
Physics | Channel | MIT Video
How to become a GOOD Theoretical Physicist, a website with outline of theoretical physics by Gerard 't Hooft
The Feynman Lectures on Physics, 3 vols., free online, Caltech & The Feynman Lectures Website
Resource recommendations - List of freely available physics books - Physics Stack Exchange

Physics Encyclopedia

World

Index

Hellenica World - Scientific Library

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License