Physics

From RationalWiki

Jump to: navigation, search


— Outline Only —
This article is only a brief description of the subject, and is not intended to give a full explanation.
Check out the "see also" or "references" sections, or Wikipedia's article for more detail.

Physics is the study of the interaction between objects, ranging in size (and specialty) from subatomic particles to galaxies.

Most of what would be considered physics that relates to interplanetary or stellar size and distance ranges is called astrophysics, or astronomy.

The languages of most physical theories and laws use higher mathematics such as analysis, but primarily the evaluation of differential equations. Most breakthroughs in physics have necessitated the use of already existing mathematical techniques. Examples include matrix mechanics for quantum interpretation, and the calculus for early mechanics.

The three principal breakthroughs in the history of physics have been:

  • Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion and his contemporaries' work on such things as planetary motion.
  • Albert Einstein's seminal work on relativity, and his infamous mass-energy equivalence.
  • Quantum physics and its counter-intuitive explorations of subatomic physics.


S T U B
(The Pet Goat ate it)
Personal tools