From the tiniest subatomic particles to the vast expanse of the cosmos, discover the fundamental principles that govern our universe. Physics is the key to understanding everything around us.
Fundamental Forces
Standard Model Particles
Speed of Light
Age of the Universe
These four forces govern every interaction in the universe, from atomic bonds to galaxy rotation
Holds quarks together inside protons and neutrons. 100× stronger than electromagnetism. Range: ~10⁻¹⁵ m
Responsible for electric/magnetic phenomena, light, chemical bonds, and friction. Infinite range
Causes radioactive decay and neutrino interactions. Changes quark flavors. Range: ~10⁻¹⁸ m
Shapes the universe — orbits, black holes, gravitational waves. Infinite range. Described by General Relativity
Physics spans from the smallest quantum scales to the largest cosmic structures
Study of motion, forces, energy, and momentum. The foundation of classical physics.
Newton's Laws KinematicsHeat, temperature, energy transfer, and entropy. Governs engines and the arrow of time.
Heat EntropyElectric and magnetic fields, light, radio waves, and all electromagnetic radiation.
Maxwell's Equations OpticsSubatomic world: wave-particle duality, superposition, entanglement, and uncertainty.
Wave Function ProbabilityGravity as spacetime curvature. Black holes, gravitational waves, and the expanding universe.
Spacetime CosmologyAtomic nuclei, radioactivity, fission, fusion, and the origin of elements in stars.
Fission FusionConnecting microscopic particle behavior to macroscopic thermodynamic properties.
Boltzmann Phase TransitionsStars, galaxies, black holes, dark matter, and the large-scale structure of the universe.
Cosmology Dark MatterThese elegant equations describe the deepest truths about our physical reality
Force equals mass times acceleration. The cornerstone of classical mechanics and engineering.
Isaac Newton, 1687Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. Mass and energy are interchangeable.
Albert Einstein, 1905Governs the quantum wave function. Predicts the probability of finding particles in quantum states.
Erwin Schrödinger, 1926Spacetime curvature (left) equals mass-energy content (right). Describes gravity.
Albert Einstein, 1915You cannot simultaneously know a particle's exact position and momentum. A fundamental limit of nature.
Werner Heisenberg, 1927Every mass attracts every other mass. The force is proportional to both masses and inversely to distance squared.
Isaac Newton, 1687Reality is far stranger than fiction
Atoms are 99.9999999% empty space. If you removed all the empty space in every human, the entire species would fit inside a sugar cube.
The observable universe is 93 billion light-years in diameter, despite being only 13.8 billion years old — because space itself is expanding.
There are roughly 10⁸⁰ atoms in the observable universe. That's a 1 followed by 80 zeros — more than all the grains of sand on Earth.
The smallest meaningful length in physics. Below this scale, our understanding of space and time breaks down completely.
A journey through the most transformative breakthroughs in human understanding
Isaac Newton publishes the laws of motion and universal gravitation, laying the foundation of classical mechanics.
James Clerk Maxwell unifies electricity and magnetism, predicting that light is an electromagnetic wave.
Albert Einstein publishes special relativity, photoelectric effect, and mass-energy equivalence — all in one year.
Einstein's theory of general relativity redefines gravity as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy.
Paul Dirac formulates an equation combining quantum mechanics with special relativity, predicting antimatter before its discovery.
CERN's Large Hadron Collider confirms the existence of the Higgs boson, completing the Standard Model of particle physics.
LIGO detects gravitational waves from merging black holes, confirming a major prediction of general relativity.
How well do you know the fundamentals?