Outline of physics

See also: Index of physics articles

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

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

Nature of physics

Physics can be described as all of the following:

• An academic discipline – one with academic departments, curricula and degrees; national and international societies; and specialized journals.
• A scientific field (a branch of science) – widely-recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature. Such a field will usually be represented by one or more scientific journals, where peer-reviewed research is published. There are several geophysics-related scientific journals.
  • A natural science – one that seeks to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world using empirical and scientific method.
    • A physical science – one that studies non-living systems.
    • A biological science – one that studies the role of physical processes in living organisms. See Outline of biophysics.

Overview

Main article: Physics

Physics started with a philosophical commitment to simplicity. It should not be considered a difficult subject (although it is deep); one can learn classical physics on a playground, which describes the motion of balls, swings, slides and merry-go-rounds.

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

Branches

• Biophysics
• Classical physics
• Acoustics
• Fluid dynamics
• Geophysics
• Quantum physics
• Thermodynamics
• Theoretical physics

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 Unification 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

History

Main article: History of physics

General concepts

Field	Articles
General concepts	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
Basic quantities	Space, length, time, mass, electric charge, energy, matter, potential energy, force, momentum, velocity, acceleration, entropy, temperature
Subfields	Acoustics, aerodynamics, classical mechanics, condensed matter physics, cosmology, dynamics, electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, kinematics, mathematical physics, mechanics, optics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics, relativity, statics, thermodynamics

Famous physicists

Leon M. Lederman

Main article: List of physicists

• Ibn al-Haytham – Father of optics and discovered reflection and refraction.
• Archimedes – discovered the laws of flotation and developed Archimedes' principle.
• Galileo Galilei – "Father of modern physics."^{[citation needed]}.
• Isaac Newton – Laid the groundwork for classical mechanics, made significant contributions to the field of optics and co-invented calculus. Often considered the greatest physicist of all time.
• Albert Einstein – Generally considered greatest scientist of the 20th century. Developed both the Special and General Theories of Relativity and proved the existence of atoms beyond doubt.
• Niels Bohr – made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics. Widely considered one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century.
• Richard Feynman – Expanded the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and developed the tool known as Feynman diagrams.
• Robert Oppenheimer – "Father of the atomic bomb."
• Nikola Tesla – One of the main influences of the second industrial revolution and widely known for his work on electromagnetism.
• Stephen Hawking – made fundamental contributions to black hole physics and cosmology. Also authored popular books on these subjects.

Lists

Main article: Index of physics articles

• List of common physics abbreviations
• 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 scientific journals in physics
• 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

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
• Physics | Channel | MIT Video
• Theoretical Physics as a Challenge (website with outline of physics) by Gerard ‘t Hooft