Physics 100 Greatest Discoveries Notes

Aristotle:
• Objects with greater masses fall faster than objects that are lighter
Galileo
• Objects with more air resistance fall at a slower rate
• Gravity pulls on an object with the same air resistance at same rate
Newton
• Moon is kept in orbit around the earth because of gravity
• Universal gravitation: bodies in universe attracted to each other
Thermodynamics
• Engines able to function b/c of kinetic energy: when work is created, some energy must be lost
Maxwell
• Electric charges can spread over metal surfaces b/c of magnetic fields
• Electrical current causes charges to move to outer sections
Einstein
• E=mc2
• E = energy
• M = mass
• C2 = speed of light
Quantum Theory
• Probability of outcomes
• Matter = probability waves
Light
• Newton – light particles, corpuscles
• Young – wave-like properties
• Einstein – wave + particle-like
Atoms
• Made of nucleus (protons, neutrons)
• Electrons
Electrical current
• Electrical current in metal dependent on temperature
• Low temp = constant resistance
Atoms
• Smaller than electrons – quarks
Forces
• Strong nuclear force
o Bonds protons + neutrons
• Weak nuclear force
• Gravity
• electromagnetism