People
began specializing in specific areas such as: Heat and Energy, Light, and
Electricity and Magnetism. Scientists began to learn that heat was able to do
work. James Joule, and English physicist, devised a way to calculate how much
work a give quantity of heat could do. Later a number of Physicists proposed the
Law of Conservation of Energy (energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only
transformed from one form to another). In the early 1800's the theory was
developed that light existed in the form of waves. Physicists believed that all
space was filled with ether and that light energy was the vibration of the
ether. There were other development in the study of electricity and magnetism,
for example Count Alessandro Volta of Italy invented the electric battery; Andre
Marie Ampere and Hans Christian showed that electricity and magnetism were
related, and Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry showed how mechanical energy could
be converted into electrical energy. At the end of the 1800's many physicists
believed that all the laws concerning the universe had been discovered. The
first Physicists in Canada taught at universities and did very little research.
When Ernest Rutherford studied radioactivity at McGill University, he inspired
other Physicists to do more research. In 1930 James Hillier helped to build the
first electron microscope while he was a student at the University of Toronto.
With financial help from the National Research Council scientists have developed
the CANDU nuclear power reactor. Gerhard Herzberg received a Nobel Prize for his
studies of the ways atoms and molecules give off and absorb light. The Alouette
satellites, which were launched in the 1960’s, have helped Physicists to study
matter high above the earth's surface. At the turn of the twentieth century the
understanding of the physical universe changed completely when Antoine Henri
Becquerel and Wilhelm Roentgen discovered radioactivity and x-rays.
A general,
theoretical picture for the generation of x-rays emerged after Niels Bohr
developed the first atomic theory. At this time Physicists realized that they
had to reexamine the philosophical foundations of their work. In doing so, the
public saw them as intellectuals who probed the dark mysteries of the universe.
Physical knowledge was reorganized and the theories of quantum mechanics were
formulated. Up until this time most Physicists worked at universities mainly in
German-speaking Europe. Then research moved to new countries where it was
supported by industry, National Research Council, or private foundations. Max
Planck, a German physicist, published his Quantum Theory of Energy Transfer.
Later, Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Heisenberg initiated the development of the
field of quantum mechanics. Albert Einstein showed how mass and energy are
related in his famous equation E = mc2. Research in physics has led to important
advances in technology, for example: in 1947 American physicists invented the
Transistor which revolutionized the electronics industry, and in the early
1960's physicists produced lasers which are light amplifying devices and are
valuable tools in areas such as communications, industry, and medicine.
Governments have become interested in promoting scientific investigation. The
United States and the Soviet Union have carried out extensive research on
thermonuclear weapons and started a space program. Physics has evolved greatly
from when primitive man devised ways to move heavy objects to the complex
scientific research that is being done today. Physics has also moved from being
a branch of Philosophy in Aristotle's day to being a very exact science today.
Physicists are still seeking knowledge concerning the laws of nature and the
universe and are involved in many diverse areas of research, such as,
biophysics, astrophysics, solid-state physics, and genetic engineering.
Physicists no longer believe, as they once did, that everything is now known
concerning the universe and are constantly searching for new truths.
Words: 1319
