20 Questions
What type of reasoning does the scientific method employ?
A priori reasoning
Which physicist championed causal determinism according to the text?
Laplace
What is the main focus of the philosophy of physics as mentioned in the text?
Nature of space and time
Which physicist referred to himself as an 'unashamed reductionist'?
Hawking
What led to the development of modern physics in the 20th century?
Inaccuracies in classical mechanics for very small objects and high velocities
Who is credited with originating the theory of quantum mechanics?
Max Planck
What discrepancy was corrected by Einstein's theory of special relativity?
Prediction that the speed of light depends on the motion of the observer
What did Planck propose to correct the problem with black-body radiation in classical physics?
Material oscillators excitation is possible only in discrete steps proportional to their frequency
What is the main difference between experimental physicists involved in basic research and those involved in applied research?
Experimental physicists in applied research work in industry developing technologies like MRI and transistors.
What is the purview of the branch of physics known as mechanics?
Describing the behavior of particles using calculus.
Why is physics sometimes referred to as the 'fundamental science'?
Because it covers a wide range of phenomena from elementary particles to superclusters of galaxies.
What invisible force observed by the ancient Chinese was later rigorously studied as magnetism in the 17th century?
The attractive force between lodestone and magnetite.
Which field of physics is primarily concerned with the study of elementary constituents of matter and energy?
Nuclear and particle physics
Which theory is NOT associated with nuclear and particle physics?
General relativity
Which subfield of physics involves the study of gas, liquid, and solid phases?
Condensed matter physics
Which concept is related to quantum optics?
Photon
In which subfield of physics would you study the behavior of stars and supernovae?
Astrophysics
Which theory is NOT a part of fundamental interactions in particle physics?
General relativity
What is a concept commonly studied in condensed matter physics?
Semiconductor
Which field of physics is associated with the study of accelerators and particle detectors?
Applied physics
Test your knowledge on experimental and applied physics, including the roles of physicists in basic and applied research, differences between experimentalists and theorists, and the scope and aims of physics in modeling the natural world with theory.
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