User:NotAPickle0/Branches of physics

Optics, acoustics, and acousto-optics
Main articles: Optical physics, Optics, and Acousto-optics

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior of light and the construction of instrumentation that use or detect it. The study of optics encompasses both visible light and non-visible light, as well as some forms of electromagnetic radiation. Optical science is often used in astronomy, photography, and some medicine.

Acoustics is the branch of physics involving the study of mechanical waves in different mediums, most commonly the study of vibration, sound, ultrasound, and infrasound.

Acousto-optics is the study of the interaction between sound and light waves, specifically diffraction of laser light by sound. Acousto-optics is a relatively new branch, beginning in 1922 with Brillouin predicting acoustic waves could diffract light.

Condensed matter physics
Main article: Condensed matter physics

Condensed matter physics is the branch of physics concerned with the microscopic and macroscopic physical qualities of matter. Condensed matter physics is currently the most active branch of physics with around one third of all physicists in America self-identifying as condensed matter physicists. Condensed matter physics is comprised of multiple important sub-fields, such as solid-state physics and materials science.

See also: Materials science and Solid-state physics

High-energy particle physics and nuclear physics
Main articles: Particle physics and Nuclear physics

High energy particle physics. often called particle physics or high energy physics, is the branch of physics responsible for studying the fundamental particles and forces that make up matter and radiation. Fundamental particles are classified as fermions and bosons. These particles then form protons, neutrons, electrons, and electron neutrinos. Practical high-energy particle physics studies these particles in radioactive processes and particle accelerators. Theoretical particle physics studies these particles in a cosmological and quantum context.

Nuclear physics is the study of atomic nuclei, their components and interactions, and other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics is a younger branch, with the history of nuclear physics starting in 1896 with the discovery of radioactivity. The vast majority of studies in nuclear physics are concerned with nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

Cosmology
Main article: Cosmology

Cosmology is a sub-field of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole, specifically the origin of the observable universe, the structure of the universe, and the fate of the universe. . Due to the high-level concerns of cosmology, it is often also recognized as a branch of metaphysics. Researchers of cosmology include astronomers and physicists, as well as philosophers. Because of cosmology's expansion into non-hard-science fields, theories in cosmology may be scientific or non-scientific. Current discourse in cosmology is dominated by the Big Bang theory.