PHYSICS

Physics is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion and behavior through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. One of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, the main goal of p. is to understand how the universe behaves.

P. is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia, it was a part of natural philosophy along with chemistry, biology, and certain branches of mathematics, but during the scientific revolution in the 17th century, the natural sciences emerged as unique research programs in their own right.

P. intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of p. are not rigidly defined. Contemporary research in p. can be broadly divided into: nuclear and particle p.; condensed matter p.; atomic, molecular, and optical p.; astrophysics; and applied physics.