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Table

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Encarta

Major Fields in Physics

Physics covers a wide range of fields. This table provides a brief description of topics covered in the major areas of study.

Field

Focus

Acoustics	Propagation of sound.
Astronomy	Properties of space; origin and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems; origin and evolution of the universe. Includes astrophysics and cosmology.
Atomic Physics	Structure and properties of atoms.
Cryogenics	Properties and behavior of matter at extremely low temperatures.
Electromagnetism	Electric and magnetic force fields; behavior of electrically charged particles in electromagnetic fields; propagation of electromagnetic waves. Also known as electrodynamics.
Elementary Particle Physics	Properties of elementary particles such as electons, photons, etc. Also known as high energy physics.
Fluid Dynamics	Properties and behavior of moving fluids and gases.
Geophysics	Application of physics to the study of the earth. Includes atmospheric physics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, geomagnetism, seismology, and volcanology.
Mathematical Physics	Application of mathematical techniques to problems in physics.
Mechanics	Forces, interactions, and motions of material objects.
Molecular Physics	Structure and properties of molecules.
Nuclear Physics	Structure, properties, reactions, and evolution of atomic nuclei.
Optics	Propagation of light, electromagnetic waves.
Plasma Physics	Behavior of ionized (electrically charged) gases.
Quantum Physics	Quantum nature of matter, energy, and light. Behavior of systems composed of small numbers of elementary particles.
Solid State Physics	Physical properties of solid materials. Includes crystallography, semiconductors, superconductivity. Also known as condensed matter physics.
Statistical Mechanics	Application of statistical methods to model the behavior of systems composed of many particles.
Thermodynamics	Temperature and energy; heat flow; transformation of energy; phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma).

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