MEPX
Chapter 5 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Before modern science
  2. 2The scientific revolution
  3. 3Chemistry and the elements
  4. 4Life sciences
  5. 5Modern physics
  6. 6The molecular era
  7. 7Computing and mathematics
  8. 8Astronomy and space
  9. 9Medicine and public health
  10. 10What the record shows

Chapter 5 of 10

Modern physics

Two strange theories.

Relativity

Einstein reworked space, time and gravitation between 1905 and 1915. His Nobel Prize was for the photoelectric effect, since relativity was still contested.

  • Emmy Noether's theorem linking symmetry and conservation underpins modern physics.
  • Eddington's 1919 eclipse observations gave early confirmation.

Quantum mechanics

Planck, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Dirac and Born built a theory that predicts with extraordinary precision while resisting intuitive interpretation.