Physics

What is Physics?

Visitors to University of New South Wales's base at the South Pole
Visitors to University of New South Wales' base at the South Pole. Photo: © John Storey.
Dome C Station, South Pole Antarctica
Dome C Station, South Pole Antarctica. Photo: © John Storey.

Physics is the study of matter, time, space, energy and their interactions.

Physics provides the foundation for engineering, chemistry, astronomy, biology and many 'new' scientific disciplines such as nanotechnology. Research in physics has lead to the development of many things that we take for granted in our modern lives including transistors and circuits that are the basis of computers and communications technology. Physics leads the race into space and the exploration for life on other planets. Physics has allowed doctors to treat diseases such as cancer.

For some examples of how physics has changed our lives look at:

International Year of Physics 2005

2005 is the International Year of Physics, to celebrate the 100 th anniversary of the year that Albert Einstein published three papers that changed the way we see the universe. It was one of these papers that included the “special theory of relativity” and that famous equation: e=mc².

Activities to celebrate the International Year of Physics can be found on the International Year of Physics 2005 in Australia website http://aip.org.au/wyop2005/

Physics Nobel Prize winners

Careers in physics

A career in physics will provide you with a strong grounding in the foundations of physics to be effective in our increasingly technological world and the flexibility to take opportunities to work in new and emerging fields of science. With the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of employment you will have be able too combine physics with biology, chemistry, law and medicine.

University Courses

Teacher Resources