Famous Physicists - List of Famous Physicists - page 21

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
Daniel Bernoulli

Daniel Bernoulli

Daniel Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician and physicist who did pioneering work in the field of fluid dynamics and kinetic theory of gases

SwissFebruary 8, 1700150 views

Arthur Compton

Arthur Compton was a renowned American physicist who discovered the Compton Effect

AmericanSeptember 10, 1892109 views

Andrei Sakharov

Andrei Sakharov was a Russian physicist and Noble Prize winning activist, popularly known as ‘The Father of Soviet nuclear bomb’

RussianMay 21, 1921184 views

Abdus Salam

Abdus Salam was a renowned scientist who belonged to Pakistan

PakistaniJanuary 29, 1926179 views

Abraham Pais

A physicist and science historian, Abraham Pais is known for his works on particle physics and his biography on Albert Einstein

AmericanMay 19, 1918203 views

Leonhard Euler

Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician counted among the greatest mathematicians of all times

RussianApril 15, 1707196 views

Sally Ride

Sally Ride was an American astronaut and physicist, who became the first American woman to travel into space

AmericanMay 26, 1951143 views

J. Robert Oppenheimer

Robert Oppenheimer is known “the father of atomic bomb” and was the lead figure of the “Manhattan Project”

AmericanApril 22, 1904170 views

Archimedes

Archimedes was one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians ever born who made incredible inventions and discoveries

Greek287 BC208 views

Sir William Lawrence Bragg

William Lawrence Bragg was a British physicist and is the youngest ever Nobel Laureate in Physics so far

BritishMarch 31, 1890115 views