100 Physics Ideas in 100 Words

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Matter

Physics is a way of looking at the world and trying to make sense of it. Books, furniture, people, houses, trees, water, the Sun, stars at night – the things surrounding us may all appear to be very different from each other, but physics says that they are all made of matter.

A defining approach in physics is to seek a single explanation for varied phenomena. Two millennia ago, people imagined that there were four different elements – earth, water, air, fire – and believed that they had no way of knowing what astronomical objects such as the Moon and Sun were made of. Two centuries ago, people would have been surprised to learn that living things are made of just the same stuff as rocks, water and stars.

Matter | CONTENTS ...