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CBSEScience (English Medium) Class 11
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अभ्यासक्रम

Branches of Physics

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Topics

Branches of Physics:

  • Physics has a very wide scope.
  • There are two domains of interest which are macroscopic domain and microscopic domain.
  • The macroscopic scale is the length scale on which objects or processes are of a size that is measurable and observable by the naked eye. Lab, terrestrial, and astronomical events all fall under the macroscopic realm.
  • The microscopic scale is the scale of size or length used to describe objects smaller than those that are easily seen by the naked eye and require a lens or microscope to see them clearly. Atomic, molecular, and nuclear events all fall under the microscopic realm.

Branches of Physics

The chronological development of various branches of physics is presented in the given table.

Branches of Physics
A) Classical Physics
  • Classical mechanics can also be called as “Newtonian Mechanics”.
  • Refers to traditional physics that was recognized and developed before the beginning of the 20th century
  • Galileo and Newton are the two scientists who brought about the birth of classical physics. 
  • Classical physics mainly deals with forces in nature. It is concerned with matter and energy under normal conditions. 
  • Classical physics has sub-branches like mechanics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics and optics.
Branch Major focus
1)

Classical mechanics
  • The study of forces acting on bodies, whether at rest or in motion.
  • The three sub-branches are Statics, Dynamics and Kinematics.
  • Statics deals with the forces that act on bodies at rest.
  • Dynamics deals with the forces that affect the body in motion.
  • Kinematics refers to the description and analysis of the cause of forces. 
2)

Thermodynamics
  • The study of the relationship between heat and other forms of energy.
  • The effects of changes in temperature, pressure and volume on a physical system and their relation to energy and work will all be covered under thermodynamics.
  • The kinetic theory of gases is based upon classical thermodynamics.
  • It was also possible to increase the efficiency of steam engines by thermodynamics in early days. It mentions the existence of quantity called entropy.
3)

Optics
  • Optics deals with the phenomena involving light.
  • Topics in optics include the operation of binoculars and microscopes, the colours thin films display, etc.
4)

Electricity and magnetism
  • The study of electricity and magnetism and their mutual relationship.
  •  Electrostatics refers to the electric charges at rest. Electrodynamics deals with the moving charges.
  • Magneto statics deals with the magnetic poles at rest.
  • The relationship between electromagnetism and mechanics can be described by the special theory of relativity.
  • Maxwell’s equations are derived from the principle of relativity and the principle of stationary action in mechanics.
5)

Acoustics
  • The study of the production and propagation of sound waves.
  • The branch of Optics refers to the study of light.
  • It has other sub-branches. Physical optics involves the study of the production, nature and properties of light.
  • Physiological optics refers to the part that is played by light in vision.
  • Geometrical optics deals with the refraction and reflection of light, as experienced in the study of mirrors and lenses.
  • These principles were later used to focus light in telescopes, cameras and microscopes.
6)

Astrophysics
  • The branch of physics that deals with the study of the physics of astronomical bodies. 
7) Relativity
  • One of the branches of theoretical physics that deals with the relationship between space, time and energy, particularly with respect to objects moving in different ways. 
B)  Modern Physics
  • Modern physics refers to the behaviour of matter and energy under extreme conditions.
  • Refers to the concepts in physics that have surfaced since the beginning of the 20th century. 
1)

Quantum mechanics
  • The study of the discrete nature of phenomena at the atomic and subatomic levels.
  • It focuses on the indivisible units or discrete units of energy called Quanta which is as described by the quantum theory.
2) Atomic physics
  • The branch of physics that deals with the structure and properties of the atom
3)

Nuclear physics
  • The branch of physics that deals with the structure, properties and reaction of the nuclei of atoms. 
4) Condensed matter physics
  • The study of the properties of condensed materials (solids, liquids and those intermediate between them and dense gas). It branches into various sub-divisions including developing fields such as nanoscience, photonics etc. It covers the basics of materials science, which aims at developing new materials with better properties for promising applications. 
5) High energy physics
  • The study of the nature of the particles.
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