physics

Magnetism arises from the motion of electric charges and the intrinsic magnetic moments of elementary particles.

Bose-Einstein condensate is a state of matter formed when a gas of bosons is cooled close to absolute zero.

The cosmological constant, introduced by Einstein and later associated with dark energy, represents an inherent energy density of space.

Special relativity predicts time dilation and length contraction at speeds approaching the speed of light.

The Casimir effect is a quantum mechanical force between two uncharged conducting plates due to vacuum fluctuations.

The Bose-Einstein condensate was first produced experimentally in 1995, leading to the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Cherenkov radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted when charged particles travel through a medium faster than light's speed in that medium.

Schrodinger's equation describes how the quantum state of a physical system changes over time.

General relativity predicts gravitational time dilation, with clocks running slower in stronger gravitational fields.

The Standard Model predicts the existence of 12 fermions and 5 bosons confirmed by experiment, plus the Higgs boson confirmed in 2012.

A black hole's event horizon is the boundary beyond which nothing, including light, can escape.

The Higgs boson was discovered at CERN's Large Hadron Collider in July 2012.

The first direct detection of gravitational waves was announced by LIGO on February 11, 2016.

Planck's constant has the exact defined value of 6.62607015 x 10^-34 joule-seconds since the 2019 SI redefinition.

Newton's third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time.

Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in 1905, established that the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames.

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle states that the position and momentum of a particle cannot both be precisely known simultaneously.

The electromagnetic spectrum spans from radio waves through microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.

Sound requires a medium to propagate and cannot travel through a vacuum.

Atoms are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons; protons and neutrons reside in the nucleus.

The weak nuclear force is responsible for radioactive beta decay and certain nuclear reactions in stars.

Fermions, which include quarks and leptons, obey the Pauli exclusion principle.

The Standard Model of particle physics describes electromagnetism, the weak interaction, and the strong interaction, but not gravity.

Antimatter consists of antiparticles with charges and quantum numbers opposite to ordinary matter; matter-antimatter annihilation produces gamma rays.

Nuclear fission powers conventional nuclear reactors by splitting heavy nuclei such as uranium-235 into lighter nuclei.

Nuclear power plants generate electricity using heat from nuclear fission, typically of uranium-235.

Surface tension is the elastic tendency of a fluid surface to acquire the least surface area possible.

Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's resistance to deformation under shear stress.

Hawking radiation is theoretical thermal radiation predicted by Stephen Hawking in 1974 to be emitted by black holes.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Aspect, Clauser, and Zeilinger for experiments with entangled photons.

Brownian motion is the random motion of particles suspended in a fluid, first explained by Einstein in 1905.

Freezing point of water at standard atmospheric pressure is 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Standard atmospheric pressure at sea level is approximately 101.325 kilopascals.

Earth's gravitational acceleration at the surface is approximately 9.81 meters per second squared.

Albert Einstein won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.

Isaac Newton published his Principia Mathematica in 1687, laying the foundations of classical mechanics.

The speed of light in vacuum is exactly 299,792,458 meters per second by definition since 1983.

Absolute zero is 0 Kelvin, equivalent to -273.15 degrees Celsius or -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit.

Newton's first law states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by a net external force.

Newton's second law states that the net force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration.

The first law of thermodynamics is a statement of conservation of energy: energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.

The fundamental electric charge of a proton is exactly 1.602176634 x 10^-19 coulombs by definition since the 2019 SI redefinition.

Einstein's general theory of relativity, published in 1915, describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime by mass and energy.

Quantum mechanics emerged in the early 20th century from the work of Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Dirac and others.

Visible light occupies wavelengths approximately 380 to 700 nanometers.

The speed of sound in dry air at 20 degrees Celsius is approximately 343 meters per second.

The strong nuclear force binds quarks into protons and neutrons and binds those nucleons within atomic nuclei.

Bosons are integer-spin particles that mediate fundamental forces; examples include photons, gluons, W and Z bosons, and the Higgs boson.

Superconductivity is a phenomenon where electrical resistance vanishes in certain materials below a critical temperature.

Plasma, an ionized gas of charged particles, is often called the fourth state of matter.

Nuclear fusion powers stars by combining light nuclei such as hydrogen isotopes into heavier nuclei, releasing energy.

Buoyancy is the upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object, described by Archimedes' principle.

Diffusion is the net movement of particles from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration.

Quantum entanglement describes a state where particles become correlated such that the quantum state of each cannot be described independently.

Maxwell's equations are a set of four equations that form the foundation of classical electromagnetism.

Mass-energy equivalence is captured by Einstein's famous equation E equals m c squared.

The double-slit experiment demonstrates the wave-particle duality of light and matter.

Boiling point of water at standard atmospheric pressure is 100 degrees Celsius or 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

The metric system, now formalized as the International System of Units, originated in France in the 1790s.

Galileo Galilei made foundational contributions to observational astronomy and is sometimes called the father of modern science.

Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, became a bestselling popular science book.

Nikola Tesla was a pioneer of alternating current electrical systems and held patents for many electrical inventions.

The conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a closed system remains constant in the absence of external forces.

The conservation of angular momentum states that the total angular momentum of a closed system remains constant in the absence of external torques.

The Doppler effect is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source.

Total internal reflection occurs when light traveling in a medium hits the boundary with a less dense medium at an angle greater than the critical angle.

Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium into another with a different refractive index.

Diffraction is the bending of waves around obstacles or through openings.

A laser produces coherent light through stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation.

Lasers were first demonstrated by Theodore Maiman in 1960 using a synthetic ruby crystal.

The metric system uses base units including the meter for length, the kilogram for mass, and the second for time.

Resistance, voltage, and current in DC circuits are related by Ohm's law: V = IR.

Kirchhoff's circuit laws state that the sum of currents at a node is zero and the sum of voltages around a closed loop is zero.

Capacitors store electrical energy in an electric field between conductors separated by a dielectric.

Inductors store energy in a magnetic field when electric current flows through them.

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power.

Bell Labs scientists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley invented the transistor in 1947.

Integrated circuits, invented in 1958-1959 by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, place many transistors on a single semiconductor chip.