Physical science

Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science, and science (generally), that study non-living systems, in contrast to the biological sciences. However, the term "physical" creates an unintended, somewhat arbitary distinction, since many branches of physical science also study biological phenomena.

Notable physical scientists

For a more comprehensive list of scientists, see the list of scientists, especially the following:

Related Topics:
Scientists - List of scientists

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

List of astronomers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

List of chemists

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

List of geologists

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

List of meteorologists, and

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

List of physicists.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Aristotle, the last of the three great influential ancient Greek philosophers, although not considered to be a scientist by today's standards, nevertheless, he laid the foundations for today's scientific method by espousing the view that knowledge should be based on empirical observations instead of intuition or faith.
• Archimedes is considered to be the first mathematical physicist on record, and the best prior to Galileo and Newton. He established the laws of statics, bouyancy, and center of gravity.
• Boyle, Robert, an Irish natural philosopher, is regarded as the "father of modern chemistry" due to his distinction between chemistry and alchemy. His namesake is Boyle's Law of an ideal gas, which he discovered, but his contributions to physical science include the definition of a chemical element, the propagation of sound, among others.
• Copernicus, Nicolaus, a Polish mathematician and economist, is considered by many to be the "father of modern astronomy" due to his detailed explanation of the heliocentric (Sun-centered]] solar system.
• , a Polish-born French chemist, was the first female Nobel laureate, the first two-time Nobel laureate, and one of only two individuals to receive the Nobel prize in two different fields. She and her husband, Pierre Curie discovered the two elements Polonium and Radium.
• Einstein, Albert, a theoretical physicist, is widely regarded as the greatest scientist of the 20th century. He proposed the theory of relativity and was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics, among other accomplishments.
• Euler, Leonhard, Swiss mathematician and physicist, considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all times. His contributions to science includes the Euler-Bournoulli beam equation and Euler equations.
• Galilei, Galileo, an astronomer and physicist, is considered the "father of modern physics," due, in large part, to his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church over the authority of science. However, he has equally impressive scientific contributions to the fields of mechanics, astronomy, and mathematical physics.
• Bacon, Francis, an Elizabethan philosopher, is credited with the philosophical advocation for the Baconian method, the early forerunner of the scientific method.
• Hutton, James, a Scottish geologist, is considered to be the "father of modern geology," for his formulation of uniformitarianism, that the same geological processes operating today operated in the distant past. Based upon that assumption, he maintained that the age of the earth must be much older than a few thousand years.
• Newton, Isaac, a scientist and mathematician, is most renowned for his description of the laws of motion and law of universal gravitation.
• Thales of Miletus, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, is considered to be the father of science becaused he first encouraged naturalistic explanations of the world, without the supernatural.