History
of Physics by Areas| History
of Physics by Areas |
Classical Mechanics > s.a. hamiltonian and lagrangian
dyamics.
* First period: Qualitative
investigations, until Kepler & Galileo; Galileo's experiments with dropping
bodies were preceded by those described in 1544 by the historian Benedetto
Varchi and those reported in 1576 by Giuseppe Moletti, Galileo's predecessor
in Padova.
* Second period: Quantitative
theory (1687–1889),
Newton, Euler, Lagrange, Laplace, Hamilton, Jacobi; Especially celestial mechanics,
formalized in the many-body
problem; Stability? [@ Dugas 1955; Moulton 1902]; From Newton onwards,
purely mechanical models until Maxwell and electromagnetic theory
(ether persisted).
* Third period: Neo-qualitative
theory (1889–present), resurrection
of geometrical point of view and use of manifolds (as opposed to Euclidean
space), differential topology (as opposed to analytic methods), new questions
(structural stability);
Started with Poincaré, but needed intrinsic calculus by Cartan
for full development,
Birkhoff, Moser.
@ References: Bailey FP(83)
[least action], FP(02)
[Lagrangian and Hamiltonian]; Segrè 84; Fabrikant SPU(91)
[acceleration]; Charap ht/93-in
[analytical
mechanics]; Crowe 07 [mechanics].
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics > s.a. critical
phenomena; Kinetic
Theory; heat; statistical
mechanics; temperature; thermodynamics.
* XIX century: First
developments by Black, Carnot, Clausius, Boltzmann, Gibbs, et al, with the
advent of steam
engines, as a way of understanding and maximizing engine efficiency; 1842,
First law formulated by Robert Mayer; 1843-1849, Experiments on energy and
heat by Robert Joule; 1850, Second law formulated by Clausius and by Lord Kelvin;
Became more fundamental with Boltzmann and kinetic theory.
* XX century: Brussels
School, self-organization paradigm, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics; "The
first systematic and contradiction-free formulation was given by Carathéodory".
* 2000: It is still a
forefront discipline; One of its new uses is to maximize information
flow in computers.
@ Thermodynamics: Truesdell 80; Kox SHPMP(06)
[third law, Nernst's heat theorem and Einstein]; Crease pw(06)sep
[Boltzmann]; Lemos & Penner AJP(08)jan
[Sadi Carnot and the second law]; Cohen a0807-in
[entropy, probabilistic vs dynamical interpretation]; Newburgh EJP(09) [from
Carnot's caloric to Clausius' entropy].
@ Statistical mechanics: Brush 83; Dresden PT(88)sep;
Parisi cm/01-in
[Planck]; Goldstein
cm/01-in,
Gyftopoulos a0710 [Boltzmann];
Brown & Myrvold a0809 [Boltzmann
and the H-theorem]; Kadanoff JSP(09)-a0906 [phase
transitions and mean-field theory]; Narasimhan PT(09)jul
[diffusion].
Particle Physics and Field Theory > s.a. particle
physics; history of quantum physics [quantum
field theory, QED, QCD].
@ General references: Segrè 80; Brown & Hoddeson ed-83; Pickering
84; Pais 86; Riordan 87; Xu & Brown AJP(87)jan
[cosmic rays]; Brown et al PT(88)nov
[1950s]; Bernstein 89; Hovis & Kragh AJP(91)sep;
Ezhela et al 96; Zichichi RNC(98); Rajasekaran
phy/06 [structure
of matter]; Petrov a0908 [quark color, Soviet contribution].
@ Theoretical: Rosenfeld PTPS(68)
[meson]; Brown PT(86)dec
[Yukawa and the meson]; Corrigan a0810 [graduate education in 1969].
@ Experimental: Amaldi PRP(84) [and nuclear physics]; Taubes 86 [Z and
W]; Dahl 97 [electron]; Krige Isis(01) [heavy bosons]; Stevens HSPBS(03)
[accelerators]; Giacomelli
phy/06-in
[bubble chambers].
@ Gauge theories, Yang-Mills: 't Hooft RMP(00),
Veltman RMP(00)
[Nobel lectures]; De Rújula hp/04-in
[Yang-Mills theories]; Marateck phy/06 [and
Feynman diagrams], phy/06 [Yang-Mills
paper]; Huang 07;
Salisbury a0904-in [Leon Rosenfeld's work on local gauge symmetries].
@ String theory: Di Vecchia LNP(08)-a0704
[1968-1974]; Freund a0708-in
[two-component hadronic duality precursor]; Di Vecchia & Schwimmer LNP(08)-a0708 [beginning];
Schwarz a0708-ln;
Ramond a0708-in;
Shapiro a0711-in;
Musto a0801-in;
Goddard a0802-in
[from dual models]; Cremmer a0812-in;
Yoneya a0901 [and
gravity]; Nielsen a0904-in [and Veneziano model].
@ Other interactions, hep: Straumann hp/96-in;
O'Raifeartaigh 97; 't Hooft ht/98;
O'Raifeartaigh & Straumann RMP(00)hp/98 [and
Kaluza-Klein]; Jackiw phy/04 [contributions
by Jackiw]; Polyakov ht/04-in;
Rajasekaran phy/06-in
[Indian contributions]; Schroer a0712 [contributions
by Swieca].
> Specific theories:
see electromagnetism; dirac
fields
in
curved spacetime; supersymmetric and unified
theories; Weak Interaction.
> Specific topics:
see connection; neutrinos; symmetries and
symmetry breaking.
Other Areas of Physics > s.a. astronomy; physics
teaching; quantum, nuclear and relativistic
physics; Superfluids.
* Electromagnetism:
The first observations were probably made by Thales of Miletus (600 BC) on
rubbing; Ideas were confused until the end of the XVIII century, with Cavendish & Coulomb
(analogous figure to Newton for gravity); 1820, Electromagnetism discovered
and first electrodynamic theory proposed, then developed quickly until final
form by Maxwell; Convention on + and – charges chosen by B Franklin;
Hertz's experiments lead to acceptance of Maxwell's theory (over Helmholtz's).
@ Atomic theory: Brush
83; Nye 84; Boorse et al 89; Keve 00 [historical novel]; Lindley 01 [Boltzmann];
Irons AJP(01)aug
[Poincaré
1911–1912]; Di Grezia & Esposito FP(04)phy [Thomas-Fermi
statistical model
& Majorana]; Bernstein AJP(06)oct
[Brown, Boltzmann, Bachelier, Einstein]; Wilholt SHPMP(08)
[XIX debates and realism].
@ Electromagnetism: Buchwald 85; Hendry 86; Kargon & Achinstein
ed-87; Whittaker 87; Buchwald 89 [light]; Verschuur 93 [magnetism]; Buchwald
94 [waves]; Darrigol 01 [Ampère to Einstein]; Jackson & Okun RMP(01)phy/00;
Smirnov-Rueda FP(05)phy [Hert'z
experiments]; Hehl AdP(08)-a0807 [Minkowski's
form of the Maxwell equations].
@ Theoretical physics: Kline 85; Jungnickel & McCormmach 86; Schweber
HSPS(86).
@ Astrophysics: Schücking PT(89)aug
[first Texas meeting]; Salpeter a0711 [nuclear,
before 1957].
@ Solid state and technology: Eckert & Schubert 89; Hoddeson et
al; Cahn 01 [materials science]; Bethe & Mermin PT(04)jun
[solid state and quantum mechanics].
@ Fluid mechanics: Darrigol HSPBS(98) [Helmholtz];
Grimberg et al PhyD-a0801
[d'Alembert's paradox and drag force].
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send feedback and suggestions to bombelli at olemiss.edu – modified 2
nov 2009