Introduction
You moved to the seventh grade and, having come to school on September 1, you saw a subject called "Physics" in the list of your new lessons. To your question about what kind of animal it is, the parents only waved it off: "Science is like that!" But you want to thoroughly prepare before the first physics lesson so that you won’t be surprised at anything while studying it. As everyone knows, sciences are divided into all sorts of sections, and the one described in this article is no exception. What branches of physics exist, and what do they study? This is the question addressed in this article.
Main sections of physics
This subject is divided into three large sections, which, in turn, are divided into subsections. And the latter are also differentiated into types of these subsections. So, there are only three sections of physics that can be called basic: macroscopic, microscopic and physics at the intersection of sciences. Let's look at them in order.
1. Macroscopic Physics
- Mechanics. Studies the movement and interaction of material bodies. It is divided into classical, relativistic and continuum mechanics (hydrodynamics, acoustics, solid mechanics).
- Thermodynamics. He studies the transformations and ratios of heat and other forms of energy.
- Optics. Examines the phenomena associated withpropagation of electromagnetic waves (infrared and ultraviolet radiation), i.e. describes the properties of light and light processes. Divided into physical, molecular, nonlinear and crystal optics.
- Electrodynamics. Studies the electromagnetic field and its interaction with bodies that have an electric charge. This section is divided into electrodynamics of continuous media, magnetohydrodynamics and electrohydrodynamics.
2. Microscopic physics
- Atomic physics. Engaged in the study of the structure and states of atoms.
- Static physics. Studies systems with an arbitrary number of degrees of freedom. Divided into static mechanics, static field theory and physical kinetics.
- Physics of condensed matter. Studies the behavior of complex systems with strong coupling. Distributed into the physics of solids, liquids, nanostructures, atoms and molecules.
- Quantum physics. He studies quantum-field and quantum-mechanical systems and the laws of their motion. Subdivided into quantum mechanics, field theory, electrodynamics and chromodynamics, as well as string theory.
- Nuclear physics. Engaged in the study of the properties and structure of atomic nuclei and nuclear reactions.
- High energy physics. Considers the interaction of atomic nuclei and/or elementary particles when their collision energy is greater than their mass.
- Physics of elementary particles. Studies properties, structures and interaction of elementary particles.
3. Physics at the junctionsciences
- Agrophysics. Engaged in the study of physicochemical and biophysical processes occurring in the soil.
- Acousto-optics. Studies the interaction of acoustic and optical waves.
- Astrophysics. Engaged in the study of physical phenomena occurring in astronomical objects.
- Biophysics. Studies the physical processes that take place in biological systems.
- Computational physics. He studies numerical algorithms for solving physics problems for which a quantitative theory has already been developed.
- Hydrophysics. Engaged in the study of processes occurring in water and its physical properties.
- Geophysics. Explores the structure of the Earth by physical methods.
- Mathematical physics. Theory of mathematical models of physical phenomena.
- Radiophysics. He studies oscillatory-wave processes of various nature.
- Theory of oscillations. Considering all kinds of fluctuations, based on their physical nature.
- Theory of dynamical systems. A mathematical abstraction designed to study and describe the evolution of systems over time.
- Chemical physics. The science of the physical laws that govern the transformation and structure of chemicals.
- Physics of the atmosphere. Engaged in the study of the structure, composition, dynamics, and phenomena in the atmosphere of the Earth and other planets.
- Plasma physics. Studying the properties and behavior of plasma.
- Physical chemistry. Engaged in the study of chemical phenomena using theoretical and experimental methods of physics.
Conclusion
These are all branches of physics. With some of them (for example, optics) you will get acquainted in detail at school, and some you will study at the institute if you enter the faculty of the same name. And you can study in depth sections of physics at home at any convenient time.
