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The evolution of natural philosophy into modern physics

Physics was not always a separate and distinct discipline. It remains connected to other sciences to this day. The word physics comes from Greek, meaning nature. The study of nature came to be called “natural philosophy.” From ancient times through the Renaissance, natural philosophy encompassed many fields, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and medicine. Over the last few centuries, the growth of knowledge has resulted in ever-increasing specialization and branching of natural philosophy into separate fields, with physics retaining the most basic facets. (See [link] , [link] , and [link] .) Physics as it developed from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century is called classical physics    . It was transformed into modern physics by revolutionary discoveries made starting at the beginning of the 20th century.

A marble statue of Aristotle.
Over the centuries, natural philosophy has evolved into more specialized disciplines, as illustrated by the contributions of some of the greatest minds in history. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) wrote on a broad range of topics including physics, animals, the soul, politics, and poetry. (credit: Jastrow (2006)/Ludovisi Collection)
A painting of Galileo Galilei.
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) laid the foundation of modern experimentation and made contributions in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. (credit: Domenico Tintoretto)
A photograph of Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr (1885–1962) made fundamental contributions to the development of quantum mechanics, one part of modern physics. (credit: United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Classical physics is not an exact description of the universe, but it is an excellent approximation under the following conditions: Matter must be moving at speeds less than about 1% of the speed of light, the objects dealt with must be large enough to be seen with a microscope, and only weak gravitational fields, such as the field generated by the Earth, can be involved. Because humans live under such circumstances, classical physics seems intuitively reasonable, while many aspects of modern physics seem bizarre. This is why models are so useful in modern physics—they let us conceptualize phenomena we do not ordinarily experience. We can relate to models in human terms and visualize what happens when objects move at high speeds or imagine what objects too small to observe with our senses might be like. For example, we can understand an atom’s properties because we can picture it in our minds, although we have never seen an atom with our eyes. New tools, of course, allow us to better picture phenomena we cannot see. In fact, new instrumentation has allowed us in recent years to actually “picture” the atom.

Limits on the laws of classical physics

For the laws of classical physics to apply, the following criteria must be met: Matter must be moving at speeds less than about 1% of the speed of light, the objects dealt with must be large enough to be seen with a microscope, and only weak gravitational fields (such as the field generated by the Earth) can be involved.

Questions & Answers

how to study physic and understand
Ewa Reply
what is work
Fredrick Reply
the transfer of energy by a force that causes an object to be displaced; the product of the component of the force in the direction of the displacement and the magnitude of the displacement
AI-Robot
why is it from light to gravity
Esther Reply
difference between model and theory
Esther
Is the ship moving at a constant velocity?
Kamogelo Reply
The full note of modern physics
aluet Reply
introduction to applications of nuclear physics
aluet Reply
the explanation is not in full details
Moses Reply
I need more explanation or all about kinematics
Moses
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zephaniah
I need more explanation or all about nuclear physics
aluet
Show that the equal masses particles emarge from collision at right angle by making explicit used of fact that momentum is a vector quantity
Muhammad Reply
yh
Isaac
A wave is described by the function D(x,t)=(1.6cm) sin[(1.2cm^-1(x+6.8cm/st] what are:a.Amplitude b. wavelength c. wave number d. frequency e. period f. velocity of speed.
Majok Reply
what is frontier of physics
Somto Reply
A body is projected upward at an angle 45° 18minutes with the horizontal with an initial speed of 40km per second. In hoe many seconds will the body reach the ground then how far from the point of projection will it strike. At what angle will the horizontal will strike
Gufraan Reply
Suppose hydrogen and oxygen are diffusing through air. A small amount of each is released simultaneously. How much time passes before the hydrogen is 1.00 s ahead of the oxygen? Such differences in arrival times are used as an analytical tool in gas chromatography.
Ezekiel Reply
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Samuel
what's the definition of physics
Mobolaji Reply
what is physics
Nangun Reply
the science concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space, and time; it is especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie every phenomenon
AI-Robot
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Nangun Reply
nuclei having the same Z and different N s
AI-Robot
Practice Key Terms 9

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Source:  OpenStax, College physics. OpenStax CNX. Jul 27, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11406/1.9
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