Handbook of Energy

Section 21

Physics

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the field of physics to our understanding of energy. Indeed, it would be easier to describe what domains of physics were not central to the concept of energy. Noble Prize laureates in physics–Becquerel, Curie, Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Marconi, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Fermi, Bethe–produced fundamental advances that not only improved our understanding of energy, but also formed the foundation for our understanding of the Universe itself.

Contributions to the modern physics of energy began as early as the 17th century. In 1638 Galileo published his major work on mechanics, including experiments on acceleration, friction, inertia, and falling bodies. At about the same time, Italian ...