Famous Physicists - List of Famous Physicists - page 5

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
Rudolf Mössbauer

Rudolf Mössbauer

Rudolf Mossbauer was a German physicist who discovered the Mossbauer Effect

GermanJanuary 31, 1929102 views

Polykarp Kusch

Polykarp Kusch was a German-American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1955

GermanJanuary 26, 1911103 views

Clinton Davisson

Clinton Davisson was a Nobel Prize winning American physicist, known for his discovery of electron diffraction

AmericanOctober 22, 1881116 views

Emilio Segrè

Emilio Gino Segrè was a well-known Italian-American physicist

ItalianJanuary 30, 190588 views

Owen Willans Richardson

Sir Owen Willans Richardson was a British physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1928 for his work on thermionic phenomenon

BritishApril 26, 1879135 views

Igor Tamm

Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm was a Soviet physicist and mathematician who was jointly awarded ‘Nobel Prize in Physics’ in 1958

RussianJuly 8, 1895114 views

Willis Lamb

Willis Eugene Lamb Jr

AmericanJuly 12, 1913107 views

Frits Zernike

Fritz Zernike, also known as Fredrik Zernike, was a Dutch mathematician and physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1953

DutchJuly 16, 188893 views

Patrick Blackett

Patrick Blackett was an English physicist who received the Noble Prize in Physics in 1948

BritishNovember 18, 1897114 views

Pavel Cherenkov

Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov was a Soviet physicist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize in Physics’ in 1958

RussianJuly 28, 1904125 views