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Article: Physics
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PHYSICS
PHYSICS
This entry includes 4 subentries:
Overview
High-Energy Physics
Nuclear Physics
Solid-State Physics
Overview
From the colonial period through the early nineteenth century, physics, which was then a branch of natural p
hilosophy, was practiced by only a few Americans, virtually none of whom earned his living primarily in research. Some, like John Winthrop at Harvard, were college professors who were expected and encouraged only to teach. Others were gentlemanly amateurs with private laboratories. The physics of that day ranged from astronomy and navigation to pneumatics, hydrostatics, mechanics, and optics. In virtually all these subjects Americans followed the ...