A Brief History of Physics

(in 23 PowerPoints)

Two pillars of physics

Matter

Energy

Matter = Stuff

Properties of matter
Takes up space (volume)
Has weight (today physicists would
say mass)
Density = mass / volume

A digression on units
Scientists use SI units (Systme International)
[derived from the metric system]

Length: metre (m)

[1/10,000,000th of distance from pole to equator]

Volume: derived from length units

[e.g., cubic decimetre (dm3), or litre (l)]
(1 dm = 0.1 m = 10 cm)

Mass: kilogram (kg)

[originally the mass of 1 litre of water]
Therefore density has units like kg/m3 or kg/dm3 (= kg/l)

Time: second (s)

Matter is composed of atoms

?

Democritus

Kinds of atoms [Elements]

Properties of atoms
Almost indestructible
(but in the late 19th century, some were found to naturally
self-destruct [radioactivity], and in the 20th century, we
humans learned how to destroy them)

Radius: ~50-250 pm (picometer = 10-12 m)

Mass: ~10-27-10-25 kg
(about 1-250 times the mass of a hydrogen atom, or
~1-250 u [u = unified atomic mass unit])

But what are atoms made of?

Electron
From the Greek word for amber []
Electrons can be easily knocked out of
atoms (e.g., by rubbing with fur)
Mass is slightly more than 1/2000th of the
mass of the lightest atom (hydrogen)
Carries one basic unit of negative electric
charge
Given the symbol e

But what are atoms made of?

Atoms are electrically neutral, so they
must contain a positive charge equal to
their number of electrons
At first, this was thought to be uniformly
distributed throughout the atom
Then in 1912, Ernest Rutherford
discovered that the positive charge was
located in a tiny region in the centre of the
atom, its nucleus

But what is the nucleus made of?

Proton
Mass about the same as a hydrogen atom
(~61023 [Avogadros number] protons make one gram)

Carries one basic unit of positive electric

charge
Given the symbol p+

But what is the nucleus made of?

A hydrogen atom contains one proton
(99.9+% of its mass) and one electron
Opposite charges attract, keeping the two
together to form the hydrogen atom
Heavier atoms were assumed to have
more protons and electrons
But like charges repel, so what keeps the
protons together in the tiny nucleus?

But what is the nucleus made of?

Neutron
Finally in 1932, James Chadwick
discovered the nuclear gluethe neutron
Mass is ~1% greater than the protons
Zero electric charge (neutral)
Given the symbol n0
Outside a nucleus, the neutron breaks
down in ~15 minutes to a p+ and an e

Were ready to build an atom

Decide what kind of atom you want, and find its atomic
number (Z) in the periodic table
Count out Z protons
You will also need at least Z neutrons for gluemore for
heavier atoms (about 50% more for lead)
Too few (or too many) neutrons will make your atom
unstable (radioactive)
Combine the protons and neutrons to make your nucleus
Add Z electrons for electrical neutralitythey will
automatically take up positions around the nucleus
Any atom with Z>83 will be radioactive (as will Z=43 or
61), but some will survive for a reasonable amount of
time (say a few billion years)
Enjoy your new atom!

Example: Building a helium atom

Nucleus much too large!

Building blocks of matter

Protons (p+)
found in nucleus; mass 1 u (1.007 276 u)

Electrons (e-)
surround nucleus; mass 1/2000 u (0.000 549 u)

Neutrons (n0)
found in nucleus; mass 1 u (1.008 664 u)
decay to p+ + e-

Neutrinos () [Greek nu]

emitted in nuclear reactions; mass <10-9 u

Positrons (e+) antimatter

identical to electron except charge;

Energy
From the Greek for activity
Anytime something happens, energy is involved
The SI unit of energy is the joule (J)
1 J = 1 kg m2/s2 = 1 kg (m/s)2 = 107 erg
This is about the energy of a small apple dropping 1 m onto a
physicists head
We wont really use this unit

Typical forms of energy include:

Motion
Heat
Light
Electricity

Force and Energy

Physics initially developed through the concept of forces
(pushes and pulls) acting on matter. Forces included, apart
from direct contact, those acting through space, like gravity,
electricity and magnetism.
Gravity was always an attracting force, that all matter
exerted on other matter, proportional to mass.
Electricity could be either repulsive or attractive (in the
physicists sense!), depending on whether like or unlike
charges were involved.
Magnetism was similar, but more complex and mysterious.
At the same time, the concept of energy was being
developed and applied, and found to be in many ways more
fundamental than that of force, though the force concept
remains useful in practice to the present day.

Electricity and magnetism

In the 19th century, it was discovered that electricity and
magnetism were relatedthat electric currents (moving
charges) created magnetic fields, and that moving magnets
could create electric currents.
This is the basis for electric generators and motors.
In the mid-to-late 1800s, physicists showed that electricity
and magnetism were fundamentally linked. They derived
equations predicting a new phenomenon, electromagnetic
waves, that could carry energy through space.
Since the equations said these waves should travel at the
speed of light, it was reasonable to suppose that light was
an electromagnetic wave, but not the only one.
Since then, radio waves, x-rays, gamma rays, and other
parts of the electromagnetic spectrum have been
discovered and applied, differing only in their wavelength.

The electromagnetic spectrum

A wave is described by its
speed (velocity) v, in m/s
frequency f, in cycles/s [Hertz or Hz], and
wavelength [Greek lambda], in m/cycle
These are related by the equation
velocity = wavelength frequency
v = f
Speed for electromagnetic waves is always the
speed of light, ~3108 m/s, so
= 3108/f m
and f = 3108/ Hz

Matter and Energy

Until 1905, it was thought that both matter
and energy were conserved; that they
could be transformed, but not created or
destroyed
Then along came Einstein
E = mc2
c = 3108 m/s
So 1 kg c2 = 91016 kg m2/s2 = 91016 J

Matter and Energy

Relativity removed the distinction between matter
and energy
Quantum mechanics (with help from Einstein!)
completed the process
The main carrier of energy (in every process were
interested in) is the photon, a particle with no
mass, that travels at the speed of lightin fact, its
just our electromagnetic wave in disguise!
The unique feature that quantum mechanics adds
is that the energy carried by a single photon
depends on its frequency
E = hf
(or E = h, Greek nu)
where h is Plancks constant, ~6.610-34 Js

Quantum mechanics
Plancks constant, h, and the idea that energy
comes in discrete packets (quanta) lies at the
heart of quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics forms the basis of modern
science and technology, including this computer
In fact, the world itself depends on quantum
mechanics, though it took millions of years of
human development for us to realize that.