Discipline Description

Physics is the study of matter and energy — the building blocks of the physical universe — and of interactions between the two. Physicists describe these interactions using the most fundamental laws and principles. As a discipline, physics forms the foundation for understanding how things work, including the basis for engineering concepts and real-world connections to mathematics.

Physics includes the traditional fields of acoustics, optics, mechanics, thermodynamics and electromagnetism, as well as the modern sciences of atomic and nuclear physics, cryogenics, solid-state physics, particle physics and plasma physics.