φύσις

“Physics” “the study of nature”

•  physis (φύσις), meaning “nature”.
• It entered English through:
  • Latin: physica – meaning “natural things” or “natural science”
  • Old French: fisique

🔹 2. Islamic Golden Age (8th–14th century)

• Scholars like Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) developed optics and the scientific method.
• Preserved and expanded Greek physics and math.

🔹 3. Scientific Revolution (16th–17th century)

Physics becomes a modern science:

• Galileo Galilei – laid the foundation of kinematics, used experiments.
• Isaac Newton – formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation (Principia, 1687).
• Physics becomes a separate science focused on quantitative laws.

🔹 4. Classical Physics (18th–19th century)

• Electricity, magnetism, thermodynamics, optics.
• Faraday, Maxwell (electromagnetism), Newtonian mechanics dominate.

🔹 5. Modern Physics (20th century–now)

• Quantum mechanics (Planck, Schrödinger, Heisenberg)
• Relativity (Einstein)
• Particle physics, cosmology, solid-state physics, etc.

🧠 Summary