---
title: "Physics"
chunk: 6/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:23:28.076442+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Ontology is a prerequisite for physics, but not for mathematics. It means physics is ultimately concerned with descriptions of the real world, while mathematics is concerned with abstract patterns, even beyond the real world. Thus physics statements are synthetic, while mathematical statements are analytic. Mathematics contains hypotheses, while physics contains theories. Mathematics statements have to be only logically true, while predictions of physics statements must match observed and experimental data.
The distinction is clear-cut, but not always obvious. For example, mathematical physics is the application of mathematics in physics. Its methods are mathematical, but its subject is physical. The problems in this field start with a "mathematical model of a physical situation" (system) and a "mathematical description of a physical law" that will be applied to that system. Every mathematical statement used for solving has a hard-to-find physical meaning. The final mathematical solution has an easier-to-find meaning, because it is what the solver is looking for.

=== Fundamental vs. applied physics ===

Physics is a branch of fundamental science (also called basic science). Physics is also called "the fundamental science" because all branches of natural science including chemistry, astronomy, geology, and biology are constrained by laws of physics. Similarly, chemistry is often called the central science because of its role in linking the physical sciences. For example, chemistry studies properties, structures, and reactions of matter (chemistry's focus on the molecular and atomic scale distinguishes it from physics). Structures are formed because particles exert electrical forces on each other, properties include physical characteristics of given substances, and reactions are bound by laws of physics, like conservation of energy, mass, and charge. Fundamental physics seeks to better explain and understand phenomena in all spheres, without a specific practical application as a goal, other than the deeper insight into the phenomema themselves.

Applied physics is a general term for physics research and development that is intended for a particular use. An applied physics curriculum usually contains a few classes in an applied discipline, like geology or electrical engineering. It usually differs from engineering in that an applied physicist may not be designing something in particular, but rather is using physics or conducting physics research with the aim of developing new technologies or solving a problem.
The approach is similar to that of applied mathematics. Applied physicists use physics in scientific research. For instance, people working on accelerator physics might seek to build better particle detectors for research in theoretical physics.
Physics is used heavily in engineering. For example, statics, a subfield of mechanics, is used in the building of bridges and other static structures. The understanding and use of acoustics results in sound control and better concert halls; similarly, the use of optics creates better optical devices. An understanding of physics makes for more realistic flight simulators, video games, and movies, and is often critical in forensic investigations.

With the standard consensus that the laws of physics are universal and do not change with time, physics can be used to study things that would ordinarily be mired in uncertainty. For example, in the study of the origin of the Earth, a physicist can reasonably model Earth's mass, temperature, and rate of rotation, as a function of time allowing the extrapolation forward or backward in time and so predict future or prior events. It also allows for simulations in engineering that speed up the development of a new technology.
There is also considerable interdisciplinarity, so many other important fields are influenced by physics (e.g., the fields of econophysics and sociophysics).

== See also ==

Earth science – Fields of natural science related to Earth
Neurophysics – Study of the nervous system with physics
Psychophysics – Branch of knowledge relating physical stimuli and psychological perception
Relationship between mathematics and physics – Relationship between fields of study
Science tourism – Travel to notable science locations

=== Lists ===
List of important publications in physics
List of physicists
Lists of physics equations

== Notes ==

== References ==

== Sources ==

== External links ==

Physics at Quanta Magazine
Usenet Physics FAQ – FAQ compiled by sci.physics and other physics newsgroups
Website of the Nobel Prize in physics Archived 7 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine – Award for outstanding contributions to the subject
World of Physics Archived 25 June 2025 at the Wayback Machine – Online encyclopedic dictionary of physics
Nature Physics – Academic journal
Physics Archived 28 June 2025 at the Wayback Machine – Online magazine by the American Physical Society
The Vega Science Trust Archived 7 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine – Science videos, including physics
HyperPhysics website Archived 8 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine – Physics and astronomy mind-map from Georgia State University
Physics at MIT OpenCourseWare Archived 15 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine – Online course material from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Feynman Lectures on Physics Archived 4 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine