The Scientists Who Shaped Physics
Physics is the accumulated work of thousands of people across centuries. Behind every equation on this site is a person who first worked it out — often against considerable resistance.
All Scientists
Isaac Newton
1643–1727
Laws of motion, universal gravitation, calculus
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Albert Einstein
1879–1955
Special and general relativity, photoelectric effect
Read biography →Galileo Galilei
1564–1642
Kinematics, telescopic astronomy, heliocentrism
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James Clerk Maxwell
1831–1879
Four equations unifying electricity, magnetism, and light
Read biography →Marie Curie
1867–1934
Radioactivity; first person to win two Nobel Prizes
Coming soonRichard Feynman
1918–1988
Quantum electrodynamics, Feynman diagrams, teaching
Coming soonNiels Bohr
1885–1962
Atomic model, quantum theory of the atom
Coming soon
Michael Faraday
1791–1867
Electromagnetic induction, laws of electrolysis
Read biography →Johannes Kepler
1571–1630
Three laws of planetary motion
Coming soon
Nikola Tesla
1856–1943
Alternating current, Tesla coil, rotating magnetic field
Read biography →Erwin Schrödinger
1887–1961
Wave equation, quantum superposition thought experiment
Coming soonWerner Heisenberg
1901–1976
Uncertainty principle, matrix mechanics
Coming soonMax Planck
1858–1947
Quantum theory, Planck constant, black-body radiation
Coming soonLeonhard Euler
1707–1783
Extended Newton's mechanics mathematically, fluid dynamics
Coming soonRobert Hooke
1635–1703
Hooke's law of elasticity, microscopy
Coming soonErnest Rutherford
1871–1937
Nuclear model of the atom, discovery of the proton
Coming soonPaul Dirac
1902–1984
Dirac equation, prediction of antimatter
Coming soonEnrico Fermi
1901–1954
First nuclear reactor, Fermi statistics, beta decay theory
Coming soonJ. Robert Oppenheimer
1904–1967
Manhattan Project, theoretical nuclear physics
Coming soonStephen Hawking
1942–2018
Hawking radiation, black hole thermodynamics, cosmology
Coming soonChristiaan Huygens
1629–1695
Wave theory of light, pendulum clock, Saturn rings
Coming soonHeinrich Hertz
1857–1894
Proved Maxwell's electromagnetic waves, photoelectric effect
Coming soonArchimedes
c. 287–212 BC
Buoyancy principle, lever, hydrostatics, approximation of pi
Coming soonLudwig Boltzmann
1844–1906
Statistical mechanics, entropy, Boltzmann constant
Coming soonLord Kelvin
1824–1907
Absolute temperature scale, thermodynamics laws
Coming soonLise Meitner
1878–1968
Nuclear fission, physics of radioactivity
Coming soonAndré-Marie Ampère
1775–1836
Ampère's law, founding electrodynamics, SI unit ampere
Coming soon
Georg Simon Ohm
1789–1854
Ohm's Law (V = IR), ohm unit of resistance, acoustic law
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