The Story of Physics: The Story of Physics Slide4: Physics is perhaps, a science which answers or tries to answer our

most basic questions regarding nature and everything around us. Curiosity demands th at we ask questions. Physics is a way of trying to answer these questions. A def inition Slide5: Over the past few centuries, Physics has evolved into a very systematic sort of practice. Theoretical Physics Experimental Physics Observation, reason and experiment make up what is Physics! The Story Begins : The Story Begins

Astronomy: Astronomy The branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and th e universe as a whole Astronomy is the oldest of the sciences. When StoneAge hum ans turned to an agrarian way of life and began to settle into communities, thei r interest must naturally have turned to the "heavens . As a subject of investigat ion among the Chinese; Greeks; Romans; and Muslims, Astronomy entered into the 1 5th century. Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543): Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) A Polish priest who studied in Renaissance Italy at the University of Padua Mathematics, Astron omy, Medicine and Theology made up the curriculum. His idea of a heliocentric [s un-centered] universe was a mental breakthrough A beautiful idea; ugly details S ticks with the circular orbits of planets, some say he was obsessed with circles Gives new knowledge, planetary distances Most importantly, initiated further pr ogress in Astronomy and Physics Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543): On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies 1543 N icholas Copernicus (1473-1543) De Revolutionibus Orbium Caelestium Slide10: An Italian Astronomer and Physicist performed fundamental observations , experiments, and mathematical analyses in astronomy and physics; discovered mo untains and craters on the moon, the phases of Venus, and the four largest satel lites of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede Galileo Galilie (1564-1642) Slide11: Galileo Galilie (1564-1642) Galileo s work on projectiles Galileo s famous telescope Galileo Galilie (1564-1642) : Galileo Galilie (1564-1642) Johannes Kepler (1571-1630): Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) Kepler's Laws of Plane tary Motion In 1605 he announced The First Law: Planets move in ellipses with th e Sun at one focus. Prior to this in 1602, Kepler found from trying to calculate the position of the Earth in its orbit that as it sweeps out an area defined by the Sun and the orbital path of the Earth that: The radius vector describes equ al areas in equal times. (The Second Law) On May 15, 1618 he discovered The Thir d Law: The squares of the periodic times are to each other as the cubes of the m ean distances. Kepler can truly be called the founder of celestial mechanics. A German Physicist Johannes Kepler (1571-1630): Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) Verification of Kepler s Laws by precise instruments in outer space today. The depth of his rigorous exp erimental work in the late 16th century shows the curiosity to unveil the hidden secrets of the universe! Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727): Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) An English Mathemati cian and Physicist developed theories of gravitation and mechanics, and invented differential calculus The Law of Inertia F = ma The Law of Action and Reaction F = G m1m2 / r2 r

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727): Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) The Principia is rec ognised as the greatest scientific book ever written. Newton analysed the motion of bodies in resisting and non-resisting media under the action of centripetal forces. The results were applied to orbiting bodies, projectiles, pendulums, and free-fall near the Earth. He further demonstrated that the planets were attract ed toward the Sun by a force varying as the inverse square of the distance and g eneralised that all heavenly bodies mutually attract one another. An English Mat hematician and Physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727): Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) Further generalisati on led Newton to the law of universal gravitation:- ... all matter attracts all other matter with a force proportional to the product of their masses and invers ely proportional to the square of the distance between them. An English Mathemat ician and Physicist Astronomy after the Newton s Law of Universal Gravitation: Astronomy after the Ne wton s Law of Universal Gravitation Newton s Laws applied to motion of the celestial bodies. Some wobbling observed in the case of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. For Jupiter and Saturn all was well But, Uranus was weird ! Newton s Laws seemed unable t o account for its motion A completely well established truth was being falsified under the very eyes of those who believed in it as a divine truth Was there a d ifferent equation for Uranus? Slide19: Urbain Le Verrier (1811-1877) A French Astronomer and Mathematician On 3 July 1841, while still an undergraduate, Adams made a note that he had decide d to investigate:- ... the irregularities of the motion of Uranus...in order to find out whether they may be attributed to the action of an undiscovered planet beyond it. John Couch Adams (1819-1892) A British Physicist and Mathematician As one of his colleagues said:- ... he discovered a star with the tip of his pen, without any instruments other than the strength of his calculations alone. These two thought otherwise! Slide20: A Great Success of Theoretical Physics ! Slide21: Benjamin Franklin (1706 1790) the first American physicist; character ized two kinds of electric charge, which he named positive and negative American Sta tesman and Inventor If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead & rott en, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing. Benjamin Franklin Slide22: Charles Augustin De Coulomb (1736-1806) experiments on elasticity, ele ctricity, and magnetism; established experimentally nature of the force between two charges F = q1q2/4p?0r2 r A French Physicist Andre` Marie Ampere (1775-1836): Andre` Marie Ampere (1775-1836) The father of e lectrodynamics A French Physicist Ampre made important contributions to the theor y of Electricity and magnetism. His theory became fundamental for 19th century d evelopments. Michael Faraday (1791-1867): Michael Faraday (1791-1867) English bookbinder who became interested in electricity. discovered electromagnetic induction and devi sed first electrical transformer One of his most important contributions to phys ics was his development of the concept of a field to describe magnetic and elect ric forces in 1845. He first suggested that current produces an electric "tensio n" which produces an "electrotonic state," or polarization of matter molecules, and is responsible for transmitting the electric force. After further experiment ation, he abandoned the concept of electrotonic forces in favor of "lines of for ce." He maintained that these lines could be made visible in a magnet using iron

filings. Slide25: Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) German mathematician who is sometimes called the Prince of Mathematics." Gauss worked in a wide variety of fields in b oth mathematics and physics including the number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics. His work has had an immense influence in many areas. The most prolific Mathematician in History Slide26: The Unification of Electrodynamics with Magnetodynamics propounded the theory of electromagnetism; developed the kinetic theory of gases : propounded the theory of electromagnetism; developed the kinetic theory of g ases In London, around 1862, Maxwell calculated that the speed of propagation of an electromagnetic field is approximately that of the speed of light. He propos ed that the phenomenon of light is therefore an electromagnetic phenomenon. Maxw ell wrote the truly remarkable words:- We can scarcely avoid the conclusion that light consists in the transverse undulations of the same medium which is the ca use of electric and magnetic phenomena. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) A Scotti sh Physicist Slide28: When the Edinburgh paper, the Courant, reported the result it noted th at:- Professor Maxwell is already acknowledged to be one of the most remarkable men known to the scientific world. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) Maxwell s Equations: Maxwell s Equations The Differential form The Integral form An d God said, And there was Light! Albert A. Michelson Edward Morley: Albert A. Michelson Edward Morley Albert A. M ichelson (1852-1931) The Nobel Prize in Physics-1907 German-born American They d evised an interferometer and used it to try to measure Earth's absolute motion; precisely measured speed of light Morley, Edward (1838-1923) A US Physicist who collaborated with Michelson The Michelson-Morley experiment, one of the most im portant and famous experiments in the history of physics, was performed in 1887 at what is now Case Western Reserve University, and is considered to be the firs t strong evidence against the theory of a luminiferous aether. The Michelson Morley Experiment: The Michelson Morley Experiment The Michelson Morley Experiment: The result of the experiments showed no such s hifts (null result). The change in the path difference of the beams by one wave length <=> a shift of one fringe. The Michelson Morley Experiment The most famous failed experiment: The most famous failed experiment Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1853-1928): Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1853-1928) Introduc ed Lorentz transformation equations of special relativity; advanced ideas of rel ativistic length contraction and relativistic mass increase; contributed to the theory of electromagnetism In 1895, Lorentz concluded that the "null" result obt ained by Michelson and Morley was caused by a effect of contraction made by the ether on their apparatus and introduced the length contraction equation where L is the contracted length, L0 is the rest length, v is the velocity of the frame of reference, and c is the speed of light. A Dutch Theoret ical Physicist The Black Body Problem: The Black Body Problem During the studies of Thermodyna mics in the 18th century, a new concept was introduced into Physics, that of the radiation emitted by heated objects. Two experimental observations Temperature of the black body is directly proportional to the intensity of the emitted radia tion (Stephan Boltzmann Law) The higher the temperature, the shorter the wavelen gth of the most intense part of the spectrum (Wein s Law) But no one could explain

the function R(?,T) quantitaively, and suggest an equation that could fit all d ata! Max Karl Planck (1858-1947) : Max Karl Planck (1858-1947) formulated the quantum theory; explained wavelength distribution of blackbody radiation Solved the fam ous Black Body Problem and gave the magical function which agreed remarkably wit h the Black Body Experimental Curves A German Theoretical Physicist The Nobel Pr ize in Physics -1918 The Problems in Physics in 1905: The Problems in Physics in 1905 The null resul t of the Michelson Morley Experiment Paradox of the constancy of the speed of li ght The unexplainable Photoelectric effect Maxwell s Equations versus Newtonian Me chanics No physical understanding and interpretation of Lorentz Transformations Albert Einstein (1879-1955): Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Einstein contributed m ore than any other scientist to the modern vision of physical reality. His speci al and general theories of relativity are still regarded as the most satisfactor y model of the large-scale universe that we have. Born in Ulm, Germany in 1879, Albert Einstein is still considered one of the greatest scientific and mathemati cal geniuses in history. In 1905, at the age of 26, he set forth his theory of r elativity which discards the concept of time and space as absolute entities, and views them as relative to moving frames of reference. At the same time, he post ulated light quanta or photons, comparable to energy quanta, and on these based his explanation of the photoelectric effect. A German born US Theoretical Physic ist The Nobel Prize in Physics - 1921 Slide40: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) A German born US Theoretical Physicist The Nobel Prize in Physics - 1921 In 1911, he asserted the equivalence of gravitati on and inertia. In 1916, he completed the mathematical formulation of his genera l theory of relativity, which included gravitation as a determiner of curvature of space-time continuum and represented gravitation as a field rather than a for ce. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to theoretical physics , especially for his work on the photoelectric effect. In 1950, he presented his unified field theory, which attempts to explain gravitation, electromagnetism, and subatomic phenomena in one set of laws. He completed it s mathematical formula tion in 1953, just two years before his death in 1955 at the age of 76. The Special Theory of Relativity: The Special Theory of Relativity The laws of physics take the same form in all inertial frames. In any inertial frame, the ve locity of light c is the same whether the light is emitted by a body at rest or by a body in uniform motion. The Photoelectric Effect: The Photoelectric Effect Slide43: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Einstein s Legacy: Einstein s Legacy Such incredible accomplishments for one indivi dual! Yet, Einstein wrote in an essay entitled, SELF PORTRAIT, "For the most par t, I do the thing which my own nature drives me to do. It is embarrassing to ear n so much respect and love for it. Schopenhauer s saying A man can do as he will, bu t not will as he will, an inspiration to Einstein since his youth, seemed to expr ess the basis of his humility. So what was the nature, the will, of the man hims elf? Einstein s Legacy: Einstein s Legacy A hundred times every day I remind myself that m y inner and outer life depend on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received The most incomprehensible fact about the universe is that it is comprehensible The search for truth is more precious than its possession Before God we are all equally wise - equally foolish Albert Einstein