Who is the Father of Physics?
Even though the title “Father of Physics” has not been assigned to any single individual. Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein were the pioneers who contributed much of their knowledge and efforts towards studying physics and have been called the “fathers of physics” in Western cultures.
History of Physics
Physics is a branch of science whose principal objects of learning are matter and energy. Principles of physics find applications throughout the natural sciences and in technology as matter and energy are the primary constituents of the natural world.
Elements of physics were formed primarily from the fields of astronomy, optics, and mechanics by technically associating them through the study of geometry. These mathematical methods began in antiquity with the Babylonian and Hellenistic authors such as Archimedes and Ptolemy.
Significant physical and mathematical ideas also existed in ancient India. Maharishi Kanada was the first to empirically explain the theory of atomism around 200 BCE.
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Present-day physics
- Present-day physics may be arranged loosely into classical physics and modern physics. With enhanced accessibility and elaboration upon exceptional analytical procedures in the 19th century, physics was defined as much, if not more, by those methods than by the quest for universal principles of motion and energy and the fundamental nature of matter.
- In the 20th century, physics also became closely allied with fields such as electrical, aerospace, and materials engineering, and physicists began to work in government and industrial laboratories as much as in academic backgrounds. After World War II, the United States became concentrated as the community of physicists, which progressed dramatically; in recent decades, physics has become a more global pursuit than ever in its former history.
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Father of Physics: Issac Newton
He is regarded as the Father of Physics as he is one of the most prominent mathematicians and scientists of all time, Newton is renowned for his law of gravitation and three laws of motion. His postulates form the basis for several important concepts and formulas in Physics. His contribution to physics has set the foundation of our understanding of engineering, mechanics, the universe as a whole, among several other disciplines of study.
Three laws of motion state that:
- Objects in motion stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force,
- Force is equal to the product of mass and acceleration,
- For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Father of Physics: Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is the Father of Modern Physics and is recognized for several contributions to mathematics and physics. His most notable achievements are the general theory of relativity, the mass-energy equivalence formula (e=mc^2), and the discovery of the photoelectric effect.
Father of Physics: Galileo Galilei
Galileo made an exceptional contribution to observational astronomy. His theoretical and experimental work throws light on the motion of bodies which contributed to devising important concepts of Physics. His accomplishments include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of Jupiter’s four largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), and his observation of sunspots. He is one of the first scientists who understood sound frequency. He put forth the fundamental principle of relativity regarding there being no complete rest or absolute motion. This contributed to the foundation for Newton’s laws of motion and was essential for Einstein’s theories of relativity.
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