Physics

Physics explores how the universe works by studying matter, energy, space, and time. Its history stretches from early philosophical ideas to modern experiments that probe the subatomic world.

Early Inquiry

• Aristotle’s “Physics” (4th century BCE) presented a natural philosophy that shaped science for centuries. Read a translation at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Galileo Galilei’s “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems” (1632) championed heliocentrism and introduced rigorous observation. A digitized copy is available at Wikisource.

The Classical Era

• Isaac Newton’s “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” (1687) unified celestial and terrestrial motion. Scans of the original Latin text can be viewed at Wikisource.
• Michael Faraday’s “Experimental Researches in Electricity” (1839) revealed how magnetism and electricity interact. You can browse an edition on the Internet Archive.
• James Clerk Maxwell’s 1865 paper “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” formulated equations describing light as an electromagnetic wave. The full text is available at Wikisource.

The Quantum and Relativity Revolutions

• Max Planck introduced the quantum idea in 1900 while studying blackbody radiation. His foundational work is documented in scientific literature and historical physics collections.
• Albert Einstein’s 1905 papers, including the special theory of relativity and the photoelectric effect, reshaped physics. They can be found through the Einstein Papers Project.
• Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (1915) revolutionized our understanding of gravity, space, and time. The original paper is preserved in scientific archives worldwide.
• Werner Heisenberg’s 1925 article on matrix mechanics pioneered quantum mechanics. A reproduction is preserved in the ETH Zurich library.

The Nuclear Age and Beyond

• Enrico Fermi’s 1942 report on the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction marked the dawn of practical nuclear power. This achievement is documented in Manhattan Project historical records.
• The discovery of the cosmic microwave background by Penzias and Wilson in 1965 provided strong evidence for the Big Bang. Their groundbreaking observations are well-documented in astrophysics literature.
• The Standard Model of particle physics was consolidated in the 1970s through work by many scientists, summarized by the Particle Data Group. These resources continue to evolve as experiments probe physics beyond the Standard Model.

Exploring the Universe

• The discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1896 revealed the power of the atom and is documented in early issues of the journal Comptes Rendus.
• CERN’s Large Hadron Collider continues to probe fundamental particles. The official CERN announcement of the Higgs boson discovery in 2012 can be viewed in the CERN Document Server.
• Gravitational waves, predicted by Einstein, were first observed by LIGO in 2015. The project shares data and explanations on the LIGO science summary.

Modern Physics and the Future

Physics remains a vibrant field influencing technology, medicine, and our understanding of the cosmos. Current frontiers include:

• Quantum computing: Harnessing quantum mechanical properties for revolutionary computing power
• Dark matter and dark energy: Understanding the mysterious components that make up 95% of the universe
• Unified field theories: Seeking to reconcile quantum mechanics with general relativity
• Climate physics: Applying physics principles to understand and address climate change

Educational Resources

For those interested in learning more about physics:

• The Feynman Lectures on Physics provides engaging introductions for curious readers at Caltech’s free online edition
• MIT OpenCourseWare offers free physics courses from introductory to advanced levels
• Perimeter Institute provides public lectures and educational resources on modern physics

Physics continues to push the boundaries of human knowledge, from the smallest subatomic particles to the largest structures in the universe, inspiring new technologies and deepening our understanding of reality itself.