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The Physics Portal

Physics is the scientific study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. It is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines. A scientist who specializes in the field of physics is called a physicist.

Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines. Over much of the past two millennia, physics, chemistry, biology, and certain branches of mathematics were part of natural philosophy, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, these natural sciences branched into separate research endeavors. Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms studied by other sciences and suggest new avenues of research in these and other academic disciplines, such as mathematics and philosophy.

Advances in physics often enable new technologies. For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism, solid-state physics, and nuclear physics led directly to the development of technologies that have transformed modern society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances, and nuclear weapons; advances in thermodynamics led to the development of industrialization; and advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus. (Full article...)

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The magnetosphere of Jupiter is the cavity created in the solar wind by Jupiter's magnetic field. Extending up to seven million kilometers in the Sun's direction and almost to the orbit of Saturn in the opposite direction, Jupiter's magnetosphere is the largest and most powerful of any planetary magnetosphere in the Solar System, and by volume the largest known continuous structure in the Solar System after the heliosphere. Wider and flatter than the Earth's magnetosphere, Jupiter's is stronger by an order of magnitude, while its magnetic moment is roughly 18,000 times larger. The existence of Jupiter's magnetic field was first inferred from observations of radio emissions at the end of the 1950s and was directly observed by the Pioneer 10 spacecraft in 1973.

Jupiter's internal magnetic field is generated by electrical currents in the planet's outer core, which is theorized to be composed of liquid metallic hydrogen. Volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon Io eject large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas into space, forming a large torus around the planet. Jupiter's magnetic field forces the torus to rotate with the same angular velocity and direction as the planet. The torus in turn loads the magnetic field with plasma, in the process stretching it into a pancake-like structure called a magnetodisk. In effect, Jupiter's magnetosphere is internally driven, shaped primarily by Io's plasma and its own rotation, rather than by the solar wind as at Earth's magnetosphere. Strong currents in the magnetosphere generate permanent aurorae around the planet's poles and intense variable radio emissions, which means that Jupiter can be thought of as a very weak radio pulsar. Jupiter's aurorae have been observed in almost all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, including infrared, visible, ultraviolet and soft X-rays. (Full article...)

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AdS/CFT correspondenceArchimedesNiels BohrJames E. Boyd (scientist)CalutronJames ChadwickChicago Pile-1Jürgen EhlersElectronLeonhard EulerEye (cyclone)Enrico FermiRichard FeynmanUrsula FranklinGamma-ray burstGeneral relativityIntroduction to general relativityJosiah Willard GibbsGlidingHerbig–Haro objectHistory of Mars observationHubble Deep FieldJohannes KeplerLaplace–Runge–Lenz vectorM-theoryManhattan ProjectMechanical filterMirror symmetry (string theory)Montreal LaboratoryEmmy NoetherOganessonMark OliphantGerard K. O'NeillJ. Robert OppenheimerPeriodic tablePlanets beyond NeptunePlutoniumQuarkIsidor Isaac RabiRadiocarbon datingRedshiftLouis SlotinSmyth ReportSpeed of lightStarSunSupernovaTrinity (nuclear test)White dwarfZETA (fusion reactor)Eunice Newton FooteBen GascoigneOtto HahnGeorge KovalLise MeitnerZhang HengDefinition of PlanetFormation and evolution of the Solar SystemHubble Space TelescopeIsland of stabilityMain sequenceNebular HypothesisToronto Magnetic and Meteorological ObservatoryVirgo interferometer

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False-color photo of the Sun as seen in ultraviolet light
False-color photo of the Sun as seen in ultraviolet light
  • ... that neutron stars are so dense (10¹⁷ kg/m³) that a teaspoonful (5 mL) would have ten times the mass of the total human population?

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Fundamentals: Concepts in physics | Constants | Physical quantities | Units of measure | Mass | Length | Time | Space | Energy | Matter | Force | Gravity | Electricity | Magnetism | Waves

Basic physics: Mechanics | Electromagnetism | Statistical mechanics | Thermodynamics | Quantum mechanics | Theory of relativity | Optics | Acoustics

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Physics topics

Classical physics traditionally includes the fields of mechanics, optics, electricity, magnetism, acoustics and thermodynamics. The term Modern physics is normally used for fields which rely heavily on quantum theory, including quantum mechanics, atomic physics, nuclear physics, particle physics and condensed matter physics. General and special relativity are usually considered to be part of modern physics as well.

Fundamental ConceptsClassical PhysicsModern PhysicsCross Discipline Topics
ContinuumSolid MechanicsFluid MechanicsGeophysics
MotionClassical MechanicsAnalytical mechanicsMathematical Physics
KineticsKinematicsKinematic chainRobotics
MatterClassical statesModern statesNanotechnology
EnergyChemical PhysicsPlasma PhysicsMaterials Science
ColdCryophysicsCryogenicsSuperconductivity
HeatHeat transferTransport PhenomenaCombustion
EntropyThermodynamicsStatistical mechanicsPhase transitions
ParticleParticulatesParticle physicsParticle accelerator
AntiparticleAntimatterAnnihilation physicsGamma ray
WavesOscillationQuantum oscillationVibration
GravityGravitationGravitational waveCelestial mechanics
VacuumPressure physicsVacuum state physicsQuantum fluctuation
RandomStatisticsStochastic processBrownian motion
SpacetimeSpecial RelativityGeneral RelativityBlack holes
QuantumQuantum mechanicsQuantum field theoryQuantum computing
RadiationRadioactivityRadioactive decayCosmic ray
LightOpticsQuantum opticsPhotonics
ElectronsSolid StateCondensed MatterSymmetry breaking
ElectricityElectrical circuitElectronicsIntegrated circuit
ElectromagnetismElectrodynamicsQuantum ElectrodynamicsChemical Bonds
Strong interactionNuclear PhysicsQuantum ChromodynamicsQuark model
Weak interactionAtomic PhysicsElectroweak theoryRadioactivity
Standard ModelFundamental interactionGrand Unified TheoryHiggs boson
InformationInformation scienceQuantum informationHolographic principle
LifeBiophysicsQuantum BiologyAstrobiology
ConscienceNeurophysicsQuantum mindQuantum brain dynamics
CosmosAstrophysicsCosmologyObservable universe
CosmogonyBig BangMathematical universeMultiverse
ChaosChaos theoryQuantum chaosPerturbation theory
ComplexityDynamical systemComplex systemEmergence
QuantizationCanonical quantizationLoop quantum gravitySpin foam
UnificationQuantum gravityString theoryTheory of Everything

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Physics}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options. Good articles 18th-century glassmaking in the United States 2019 revision of the SI Harold Agnew Alhazen's problem Samuel King Allison Luis Walter Alvarez Ames Project Elda Emma Anderson Animal echolocation Antimetric electrical network Aristotle Astronomy Atmosphere of Uranus History of atomic theory Avogadro constant Robert Bacher Kenneth Bainbridge Violin acoustics Hans Bethe Francis Birch (geophysicist) Black hole Aage Bohr Max Born Bouncing ball Norris Bradbury Hugh Bradner Calutron Girls Celestial spheres Charm quark Robert F. Christy Clapotis John Cockcroft Arthur Compton CT scan Condensed matter physics Edward Condon Henri Coutard Edward Creutz Charles Critchfield Marie Curie Joan Curran Cyclone Cyclotron DU spectrophotometer Harry Daghlian Deep Impact (spacecraft) Beryl May Dent Diffusion damping Dirac delta function Dynamics of the celestial spheres Ecliptic Albert Einstein Einstein–Szilard letter Elastance Electricity Electron backscatter diffraction Electron diffraction Extended Wulff constructions Ronald Fedkiw Val Logsdon Fitch Fiveling Foucault's measurements of the speed of light Fizeau experiment Flerovium Floating Clouds (artwork) Force Foster's reactance theorem James Franck Augustin-Jean Fresnel Frisch–Peierls memorandum Frog battery Klaus Fuchs Fujiwhara effect Carl Friedrich Gauss Joseph Gelders Geostationary orbit Glass Glass fiber Gleason's theorem Maria Goeppert Mayer Alvin C. Graves Gravity bong John T. Hayward Heraclitus Grete Hermann Hilbert space A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity Robert Hooke Christiaan Huygens Ice Icosahedral twins Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz Insect flight Interferometry Mary Jackson (engineer) Brian Josephson Amrom Harry Katz Donald William Kerst Kilogram Laser Inertial Fusion Energy Ernest Lawrence Hilde Levi Joel S. Levine Magnetic resonance imaging Magnetoreception Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 satellite communications Margaret Eliza Maltby John Marburger Leslie H. Martin Harrie Massey Maximum sustained wind James Clerk Maxwell Boyce McDaniel Metric system Mobility analogy Molniya orbit Philip Morrison Seth Neddermeyer Negative resistance John von Neumann Isaac Newton Newton's theorem of revolving orbits Nobel Prize in Physics Noctilucent cloud Nuclear power Nucleon magnetic moment Adriana Ocampo PSR B1937+21 Rudolf Peierls William Penney, Baron Penney Bruno Pontecorvo Chanda Prescod-Weinstein Pythagoras Quantum Reality Quantum electrodynamics Quantum mechanics RaLa Experiment James Rainwater C. V. Raman Norman Ramsey Jr. Frederick Reines Representation theory of the Lorentz group George T. Reynolds Bruno Rossi Joseph Rotblat Harley Rutledge S-1 Executive Committee Safety of high-energy particle collision experiments Matthew Sands Schiehallion experiment Glenn T. Seaborg Emilio Segrè Arne Slettebak Henry DeWolf Smyth Steam devil Carl Størmer Subtle Is the Lord Leo Szilard Tamper (nuclear weapon) Nikola Tesla Thin Man (nuclear bomb) Charles Allen Thomas Ernest Titterton Triboelectric effect Type II supernova Type Ia supernova Type Ib and Ic supernovae Stanisław Ulam Universe John Clive Ward Waterspout Katharine Way Alvin M. Weinberg John Archibald Wheeler E. T. Whittaker Eugene Wigner Robert R. Wilson Wind turbine Leona Woods Wow! signal Chien-Shiung Wu Wu Zhonghua Wu experiment Walter Zinn
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Physics}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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