A Ride Through the Ages

Modern Physics

Ma. Jennelyn Callope Jesusa Mae Carballo Jhetro Arthur Cledera

Modern Physics Defined

Modern physics is the interpretation and extension of physics in light of key events which happened about 1990. The term modern physics is not synonymous with contemporary physics but rather implies a viewpoint in contrast with that of pre-1900 classical physics.

1895
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovers X-rays

1897
Joseph John Thomson measures the charge to mass ratio of the electron

e/m = 1.75882 x 108 C/g

1909
Robert Andrews Millikan measures electron charge

Millikan OIL drop EXPERIMENT

1898
Ernest Rutherford discovers alpha and beta radiation

1910
Ernest Rutherford and his team performs alphascattering experiment

RUTHERFORD SCATTERING EXPERIMENT

1911
Ernest Rutherford discovers the nucleus of the atom

1919
Rutherford and James Chadwick observed the proton as a particle that is emitted by bombardment of certain atoms with -particles

1932
James Chadwick identifies the neutron

1932
Werner Heisenberg proposes that the nucleus of an atom is composed of protons and neutrons

1901
Max Planck makes his quantum hypothesis, called Planck's Law

1905

1902
Philipp E.A. von Lenard measures photoelectric effect

Albert Einstein proposes Planck's quantum hypothesis as the physics underlying the photoelectric effect, developing quantum theory, one of the two most important developments in 20th century physics

PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
When light of a sufficiently high energy strikes the metal, electrons are knocked off its surface. They then travel to the positive electrode and form a current flowing through the circuit. The important observations follow. 1. Electrons can be ejected only if the light is of sufficiently short wavelength (has sufficiently high energy), no matter how long or how brightly the light shines. This wavelength limit is different for different metals. 2. The current (the number of electrons emitted per second) increases with increasing brightness (intensity) of the light. The current, however, does not depend on the color of the light, as long as the wavelength is short enough (has high enough energy).

1905
Einstein postulates the equivalence of mass and energy

E = mc2

1905
Einstein publishes his Special Theory of Relativity

Special Theory of Relativity deals with things moving near or at the speed of light (systems that are not accelerating). 1. The laws of physics are the same in all inertial (=non-accelerating) reference frames. 2. 2. The speed of light in free space is constant. General Theory of Relativity deals with observers in any state of uniform motion including relative acceleration. Also known as Theory of Gravitation, it determined that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time, which is felt as gravity.

1915
Einstein publishes his General Theory of Relativity

1912
William Bragg shows that X-rays scatter off crystal lattices

1913
Neils Bohr proposes his quantum theory of atomic orbits

1923
Louis Victor de Broglie proposes the particle-wave duality of the electron

1925
Max Born and Werner Heisenberg introduce quantum mechanics

1926
Werner Heisenberg develops matrix mechanics, the first quantum mechanical theory

1926
Erwin Schrdinger develops wave mechanics, an alternate quantum mechanical theory

1927
Werner Heisenberg publishes his Uncertainty Principle

The exact position of an electron within an atomic nucleus at a given time could not be known with certainty, but only statistically calculated within a probability.

1928
Paul Dirac predicts the discovery of the positron and antimatter

1929
Edwin Hubble observes the redshift of distant galaxies and concludes that the Universe is expanding

The Doppler Redshift results from the relative motion of the light emitting object and the observer. If the source of light is moving away from you then the wavelength of the light is stretched out, i.e., the light is shifted towards the red.

The Cosmological Redshift is a redshift caused by the expansion of space. The wavelength of light increases as it traverses the expanding universe between its point of emission and its point of detection by the same amount that space has expanded during the crossing time.

REDSHIFT

1933
Astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky infers existence of dark matter

1975
Vera Rubin announces the existence of dark matter

1935
Physicist Subramahnyan Chandrasekhar predicts black holes

1938
Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch successfully diagnosed the occurrence of nuclear fission

1942
Enrico Fermi obtains the first self sustaining fission reaction

1953
Murray GellMann lays foundation for the quark

1968
Gabriele Veneziano founds modern string theory

NEW MILLENIUM
C E R N

Nuclear Research

NEW MILLENIUM
Higgs Boson; Neutrinos

Stephen Hawking

Thank You