Physics
hidePhysics (Greek: physis – φύσις meaning "nature") is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the world and universe behave.
Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia, physics had been considered synonymous with philosophy, chemistry, and certain branches of mathematics and biology, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 16th century, it emerged to become a unique modern science in its own right. However, in some subject areas such as in mathematical physics and quantum chemistry, the boundaries of physics remain difficult to distinguish.
Physics is both significant and influential, in part because advances in its understanding have often translated into new technologies, but also because new ideas in physics often resonate with the other sciences, mathematics and philosophy.
For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism led directly to the development of new products which have dramatically transformed modern-day society (e.g., television, computers, and domestic appliances); advances in thermodynamics led to the development of motorized transport; and advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus.
For more information about Physics, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with physics
Researchers Design Triple Quantum Dot for Quantum Information Applications
Nov 30, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (16) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- While quantum dots have existed since the 1980s, only in the past decade have physicists successfully created lateral few-electron single quantum dots. These quantum dots enable physicists ...
Using superconducting probes to get a picture of what it's like inside CNTs
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (9) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- "Carbon nanotubes are exciting for fundamental physics, and for potential technological applications," Nadya Mason tells PhysOrg.com. "However, we are generally limited in the way that we can study them. ...
Tiny Music Player Made from Wire Bridge (w/ Video)
Nov 04, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (18) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2008, scientists built a loudspeaker made of carbon nanotubes that produced sound and music based on the thermoacoustic effect. Now, a different team of scientists has built a loudspeaker ...
Stars Fueled by Dark Matter Could Hold Secrets to the Universe
Nov 03, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (58) |
44
(PhysOrg.com) -- The first stars in the universe may have been very different from the stars we see today, yet they may hold clues to understanding some of the mysterious features of the universe. These "dark ...
New Law of Physics Could Explain Quantum Mysteries
Aug 17, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (98) |
163
(PhysOrg.com) -- Since the early days of quantum mechanics, scientists have been trying to understand the many strange implications of the theory: superpositions, wave-particle duality, and the observer’s ...
Dark Matter May be Easier to Detect than Previously Thought
Aug 10, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (30) |
44
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Milky Way, like many other galaxies, is thought to be embedded in massive, lumpy amounts of dark matter that release gamma rays and other emissions. Although at first these emissions seem ...
Researchers Set New Distance Record for Quantum Key Distribution
Jul 21, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (14) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- Quantum key distribution (QKD) could be the next commercial success of quantum physics, and a recent study has taken the field a step closer to this reality. Researchers from the University ...
Quantum Mysticism: Gone but Not Forgotten
Jun 08, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (52) |
43
Does mysticism have a place in quantum mechanics today, or is the idea that the mind plays a role in creating reality best left to philosophical meditations? Harvard historian Juan Miguel Marin argues the ...
Physicists Propose New Ultracold Scheme for Scalable Quantum Information Processing
Jun 03, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (14) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Since 1994, when Peter Shor famously showed that a quantum computer could factor large numbers exponentially faster than any current classical algorithm, physicists have been investigating ...
Stretchable Nanotube Films May Advance Medical Electronics (Update)
May 04, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (10) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the issues hindering the development of medical electronic devices capable of being implanted in the human body is the lack of suitable materials. Most semiconducting materials are ...
Study of 'Persistent Currents' Finally Verifies Theory
Apr 28, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (23) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- Approximately 20 years ago, scientists discovered that is is possible for an electric current to flow endlessly in a ring made of a normal metal. One might think that such an 'old' finding ...
Entangled Light in Bose-Einstein Condensates
Apr 08, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (16) |
13
(PhysOrg.com) -- When physicists entangle light, they usually use nonlinear crystals as the source. However, it’s difficult to control the entanglement generation process in a bulk crystal, and so scientists ...
Will carbon nanotubes replace indium tin oxide?
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Mar 09, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Up until now, George Grüner tells PhysOrg.com, most of the studies regarding the properties - and uses - of carbon nanotubes have been restricted to the visible spectral range. “We, however, were interested in the ...
It's Easier to Observe the Failure of Local Realism than Previously Thought
Mar 04, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (41) |
199
(PhysOrg.com) -- Local realism is something we live with every day, even if we don’t realize it. The principle of local realism combines two assumptions: locality and realism. Locality says that distant objects cannot directly ...
Scientists Control Plasma Bullets
Feb 27, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (30) |
16
(PhysOrg.com) -- On the nanoscale, things aren’t always what they seem. What first looked like a continuous plasma jet has turned out to be a train of tiny, high-velocity plasma bullets. Using a camera with ...
