What are the different types of physics?

Discussion in 'Physics & Math' started by science man, Oct 25, 2009.

  1. such as one type being theoretical physics. What are the others?
     
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  3. Dywyddyr Penguinaciously duckalicious. Valued Senior Member

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    Try this.
    But it does leave out experimental physics - the guys who get their hands dirty with something other than pencil graphite.
    "Theoretical" and "experimental" are normally subsets of particle physics.
    Whoops, also not mentioned.
     
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  5. wow thanks.
     
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  7. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

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    Not really, most of all classical physics had their theoretical and experimental physics. True theoretical physics only began to be taught in universities at the turn of the last century however. Before then, an individual scientist was equally adept at the theoretical and experimental parts.
     
  8. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

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    There are many sets and subsets of physics and ways of breaking the discipline down. I will just give you 2 sets to begin with that encompass all of physics today -

    1. classical
    2. non-classical (relativity, quantum physics)

    Fundamentals of Nonclassical Physics
     
  9. wtf is the link. I don't understand it.
     
  10. rpenner Fully Wired Valued Senior Member

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    "classical" is just a historical classification. Sometimes relativity is included in classical physics depending on author's intent and preference. A quantum mechanics textbook, likewise, may use classical as synonymous with the non-relativistic limit.

    Another historical classification is experiments before and after 1960. About this time the need to quantify uncertainty achieved market share, and people started reporting error estimates on measurements.
     
  11. Dywyddyr Penguinaciously duckalicious. Valued Senior Member

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    True, I was talking about the "division" as it is today.

    Yep, in the "old days" it was all part of the same thing.
     

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