What Are the Key Physics Experiments Shaping Our Understanding of the Universe?

In summary, the major physics experiments listed on Wikipedia are: - Mechanics: Al-Khazini - Rainbow: Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī - Motion of rolling balls: Galileo Galilei - Torsion: Henry Cavendish - Double-slit light diffraction: Thomas Young - Electricity & compass: Hans Christian Ørsted - Heat: James Prescott Joule - Sound: Christian Doppler - Pendulum: Léon Foucault - Magnet & voltage: Edwin Hall - Aether: Michelson-Morley - Radio waves: Gugliel
  • #1
lkindr
3
0
* I'm looking for a list of the major physics experiments on the internet that will show how the present understanding of electromagnetic radiation, sound, atomic and molecular structure etc came about.
* So far I've only found the following lists. Once I find a more complete list of the people who did the major experiments, then I hope to look through each one in more detail and try to get a summary of each. I'd appreciate if anyone can link me to more thorough lists - and sites with good summaries of the experiments would be nice too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_experiments"
1. mechanics: Al-Khazini
2. rainbow: Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī
3. motion of rolling balls: Galileo Galilei
4. torsion: Henry Cavendish
5. double-slit light diffraction: Thomas Young
6. electricity & compass: Hans Christian Ørsted
7. heat: James Prescott Joule
8. sound: Christian Doppler
9. pendulum: Léon Foucault
10. magnet & voltage: Edwin Hall
11. aether: Michelson-Morley
12. radio waves: Guglielmo Marconi
13. cathode rays: J. J. Thomson
14. inertia & gravity: Roland von Eötvös
15. electric charge of oil drops: Robert Millikan
16. superconductivity: Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
17. atomic nucleus: Ernest Rutherford
18. gravitational lensing: Arthur Eddington
19. particle spin: Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach
20. atomic fission: Enrico Fermi
21. nuclear disintegration: John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton
22. nuclear reactor: Enrico Fermi
23. atomic bomb: The Manhattan Project
24. transistor: John Bardeen and Walter Brattain
25. neutrino: Clyde L. Cowan and Frederick Reines
26. time dilation: The Scout rocket
27. quantum entanglement: Alain Aspect
28. Bose-Einstein condensate: Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman

http://physics-animations.com/Physics/English/top_ref.htm"
30. Double-slit electron diffraction: Claus Jönsson
31. falling objects: Galileo Galilei
32. prism light spectrum: Isaac Newton
33. measurement of Earth's circumference: Eratosthenes

http://www.slideshare.net/kmitaksov/atomic-experiments-regular-fall07"
 
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  • #3
* I found these in the Library section of this forum.
34. moment of inertia: Isaac Newton, Leonhard Euler, Jakob Steiner
35. pressure: Daniel Bernoulli
36. electric field: Michael Faraday, James Maxwell
37. momentum: Isaac Newton
38. Newton's second law: Isaac Newton
39. heat: Sadi Carnot, James Joule
40. impedance: Oliver Heaviside, Arthur Kennelly
41. voltage: Alessandro Volta
42. flux: Carl Friedrich Gauss
43. cooper pair: Leon Cooper
44. Feynman propagator: Richard Feynman
45. virtual particles: Richard Feynman, Gian-Carlo Wick, Freeman Dyson
46. mean value theorem: Parameshvara, Michel Rolle, Augustin Cauchy
47. free energy: St Albert of Cologne, Germain Hess, James Joule, Rudolf Clausius, Julius Thomsen, Marcellin Berthelot, Willard Gibbs, Hermann von Helmholtz
 
  • #4
You might want to check out the Stern-Gerlach experiment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stern–Gerlach_experiment). It illustrates a lot of the basic quantum mechanical principles, in particular the deflection of particles and hence, physical interactions between particles.
 

Related to What Are the Key Physics Experiments Shaping Our Understanding of the Universe?

1. What is the purpose of conducting major physics experiments?

The purpose of major physics experiments is to test and verify scientific theories and principles, as well as to discover new phenomena and advance our understanding of the physical world.

2. How are major physics experiments designed and conducted?

Major physics experiments are carefully planned and designed by teams of scientists and engineers. They often involve large, sophisticated instruments and equipment, and are conducted in controlled laboratory environments or specialized facilities, such as particle accelerators or observatories.

3. What are some examples of major physics experiments?

Some examples of major physics experiments include the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, which studies particle physics and the origins of the universe, and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which detects gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity.

4. What are the potential benefits of major physics experiments?

Major physics experiments can lead to groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in technology, medicine, and other fields. They also help us understand the fundamental laws and principles of the universe, which can have wide-reaching implications for our understanding of the world and our place in it.

5. How do major physics experiments contribute to the scientific community?

Major physics experiments not only contribute to our collective knowledge and understanding of the physical world, but they also foster collaboration and exchange of ideas among scientists from different disciplines and countries. They also inspire and educate future generations of scientists and engineers.

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