the.com/physics
the universe's source code, written in math and stubbornly refusing to be debugged.
means The science of how matter, energy, space, and time behave — from falling apples to colliding galaxies — described through mathematical laws.
from From the Greek 'physis' meaning 'nature,' which gave 'physika' — literally 'things relating to nature.' Aristotle wrote a treatise by that name, and tellingly, his work on first principles came right after it, earning the title 'metaphysics' — literally 'after the physics.' The word reached English through Latin 'physica,' first describing the study of the natural world broadly, before narrowing to the science we know.
- empty space
- atoms are 99.9999999% nothing, including you
- time bends
- GPS satellites tick faster than clocks on Earth
- observer effect
- watching particles changes how they behave
- absolute speed
- light's pace is the universe's hard speed limit
- entropy rules
- the cosmos only ever gets messier
the standard model — describes three of four fundamental forces and all known particles
quantum mechanics — describes behavior of matter and energy at atomic scales, developed 1920s-1930s