Famous Physicists - List of Famous Physicists - page 4

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

Nevill Francis Mott

Nevill Francis Mott was an English physicist who won a share of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977

John Hasbrouck Van Vleck

John Hasbrouck Van Vleck was an American physicist and mathematician who won a share of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics

AmericanMarch 13, 1899106 views

Ivar Giaever

Ivar Giaever is a noted Norwegian-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973

NorwegianApril 5, 192999 views

Aleksandr Prokhorov

Aleksandr Prokhorov was a Soviet physicist who earned the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work on laser-maser principle

RussianJuly 11, 1916165 views

John Robert Schrieffer

John Robert Schrieffer is an American physicist noted for his contributions in developing the BCS theory

AmericanMay 31, 1931101 views

Louis Néel

Louis Eugène Félix Néel was a noted French physicist who was jointly awarded the ‘Nobel Prize in Physics’ in 1970

FrenchNovember 22, 1904203 views

Sin-Itiro Tomonaga

Sin'ichirō Tomonaga was a Japanese physicist who received the ‘Nobel Prize in Physics’ in 1965

JapaneseMarch 31, 1906135 views

Alfred Kastler

Alfred Kastler was a French physicist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize in Physics’ in 1966

FrenchMay 3, 1902168 views

Nikolay Basov

Nikolay Basov was a Soviet physicist who won Nobel Prize for his work on quantum electrodynamics

RussianDecember 14, 1922182 views