Famous Physicists - List of Famous Physicists - page 16

Physicists are the scientists who study the field of physics in great detail. They conduct research into physical phenomena or the natural science that involve the study of matter and related concepts. They analyze the general happenings in nature and try to understand how the universe behaves. On the basis of research through observation and experiments, they discover physical laws and propound theories that explain the functioning of natural forces like gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear interactions. The discovery of new physical laws and theories contribute to the existing base of theoretical knowledge and can also be used for more practical applications such as development of medial equipment, electronic devices, nuclear reactors, etc. During the earlier days, physics was considered a field of philosophy; it was only during the 19th century that physics was realized as a discipline separate from philosophy. Some of the major branches of physics are classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, theory of relativity and electromagnetism. Since physics covers a vast number of fields, most physicists specialize in one of the many subfields. However, the various subfields may overlap with each other and also with other sciences resulting in interdisciplinary fields such as biophysics, geophysics, meteorology, etc. Browse through this section to explore the biographies, life and works of various famous physicists from all over the world.

The Most Famous Physicists

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Henry CavendishOctober 10, 1731BritishHenry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth
Walter KohnMarch 9, 1923AustrianNobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist
Isaac NewtonJanuary 4, 1643BritishIsaac Newton was an English scientist and mathematician, who discovered gravitation and Newtonian Mechanics
Ernst RuskaDecember 25, 1906GermanErnst Ruska was a German physicist who invented the electron microscope
Amedeo AvogadroAugust 9, 1776ItalianAmedeo Avogadro was an Italian scientist who formulated what is now known as Avogadro's law
Paul DiracAugust 8, 1902BritishPaul Dirac was an English theoretical physicist known for his contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics
Nikola TeslaJuly 10, 1856AmericanNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems
Franklin Chang DíazApril 5, 1950Chinese, Costa Rican, AmericanFranklin Chang-Diaz is an American-Costa Rican physicist and former NASA astronaut
Richard FeynmanMay 11, 1918AmericanRichard Feynman was a Nobel Prize winning American physicist who proposed the theory of quantum electrodynamics
J. J. ThomsonDecember 18, 1856BritishJ.J
Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet

Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet

Sir George Stokes was an Irish mathematician and physicist, well known for his investigations in fluid dynamics

BritishAugust 13, 1819176 views

Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin

Mihajlo Pupin was a scientist who hailed from Serbia and is renowned for his patented works

SerbianOctober 9, 1858190 views

Mileva Marić

Mileva Marić was an exceptional physics scholar from Serbia who was also the first wife of Albert Einstein

SerbianDecember 19, 1875260 views

Franklin Chang Díaz

Franklin Chang-Diaz is an American-Costa Rican physicist and former NASA astronaut

ChineseApril 5, 1950385 views

Anders Celsius

Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer and physicist who proposed the Celsius temperature scale and founded the Uppsala Observatory

SwedishNovember 27, 1701133 views

Sir William Rowan Hamilton

Sir William Rowan Hamilton was one of the greatest scientists to be born in Ireland

IrishAugust 4, 1805193 views

Sadi Carnot

Sadi Carnot was a learned French scientist who founded modern thermodynamics

FrenchJune 1, 1796169 views

Wilhelm Weber

Wilhelm Weber was renowned German physicst of the early 19th century

GermanOctober 24, 180499 views

Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday was the most celebrated British scientist of the 19th century

BritishSeptember 22, 1791157 views

Joseph Fourier

A top-class French mathematician and physicist, Joseph Fourier brought about a revolution in science with his research

FrenchMarch 21, 1768132 views