Famous Physicists - List of Famous Physicists - page 9

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
Russell Alan Hulse

Russell Alan Hulse

Russell Alan Hulse is an American physicist who was one of the joint winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1993

AmericanNovember 28, 1950116 views

Clifford Shull

Clifford Glenwood Shull was a well-known U.S

AmericanSeptember 23, 1915113 views

Pierre-Gilles de Gennes

Pierre Gilles de Gennes was a French scientist, well-known for his study of the order phenomena in liquid crystals and polymers

FrenchOctober 24, 193291 views

Martin Ryle

Sir Martin Ryle was a British astronomer who was one of the joint winners of Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974

BritishSeptember 27, 1918152 views

K. Alex Müller

Karl Alexander Müller is a Swiss solid-state physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1987 for his work on superconductivity.

SwissApril 20, 1927128 views

Heinrich Rohrer

Heinrich Rohrer was a Swiss physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986

SwissJune 6, 1933135 views

Ernst Ruska

Ernst Ruska was a German physicist who invented the electron microscope

GermanDecember 25, 1906498 views

Brian Josephson

Brian Josephson is a Welsh theoretical physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 for his prediction of the Josephson Effect

BritishJanuary 4, 194089 views

Simon van der Meer

Simon van der Meer was a Dutch physicist who made revolutionary contributions to the field of particle physics

DutchNovember 24, 192592 views