Physics in relation to society
The fate of a society is closely linked to physics. Whatever is discovered in physics, it immediately affects the society.
For example:
1. The developments of telephone, telegraph, telex enable us to quickly exchange messages between far off places.
2. The discoveries of radio and television have made possible the instantaneous communication with other parts of the world.
3. The launching of satellites into space has revolutionised the concept of communication.
4. The development of alternative sources of energy is of great importance to the mankind.
5. Microelectronics, lasers, computers, superconductivity and nuclear energy have entirely changed the thinking and the living style of the human beings.
The modem science in general and physics in particular has the potentiality to eradicate poverty and hunger from the surface of the earth and to usher in an age of prosperity. On the other hand, a wrong use of discoveries of physics may bring about a disaster. The knowledge of physics can be applied alike to the creation of heaven on the earth or to the total annihilation. Our wiseness lies in applying physics to solve the pressing problems the society faces and not to annihilate it.
| s. No. | Name of Scientist | Country | Discovery |
| 1. | Abdus Salam | America (Pakistan born) | Unification of weak and electromagnetic interactions |
| 2. | Alfred Noble | Sweden | Dynamite |
| 3. | Anderson C.D. | America | Positron |
| 4. | Antony Hewert | England | Pulsars |
| 5. | Appleton, E. | England | Exploration of ionosphere |
| 6. | Ampere | France | Magnetism is due to electric current |
| 7. | Archimedes | Greece | Principle of buoyancy, Principle of the lever |
| 8. | Bardeen, John | America | Transistor, su percondu cti vi ty |
| 9. | Bequerrel, Henry A. | France | Discovery of spontaneous radioactivity |
| 10. | Bhabha, Homi Jehangir | India | Cosmic ray showers |
| 11. | Bose J.C. | India | Ultrashort radiowaves |
| 12. | Bose, S.N. | India | Bose-Einstein statistics |
| 13. | Bohr, Niels | Denmark | Quantum model of hydrogen atom |
| 14. | Bragg, W.H. | England | Crystal structure by X-rays |
| 15. | Bragg, W.L. | England | Crystal structure by X-rays |
| 16. | Barkla, Charles G. | England | Number of electrons in an atom |
| 17. | Cavendish | England | Experimental determination of ‘G’ |
| 18. | Cerenkov, P.A. | Russia | Cerenkov radiations |
| 19. | Chadwick, James | England | Neutron |
| 20. | Compton, A.H. | America | Compton effect |
| 21. | Coulomb, Charles A. de | France | Coulomb’s law |
| 22. | Curie, Marie Sklodowaska | Poland | Studies on natural radioactivity, Discovery of radium and polonium |
| 23. | de-Broglie, Louis Victor | France | Wave nature of matter |
| 24. | Dirac, Paul | England | Relativistic theory of electron, Quantum statics |
| 25. | Einstein, Albert | Germany | Theory of relativity, mass-energy equivalence, photoelectric effect |
| 26. | Edison, A. | America | Electric bulb, telegraphy |
| 27. | Faraday, Michael | England | Laws of electromagnetic induction, laws of electrolysis, designed electric motor |
| 28. | Fermi, Enrico | Italy | Controlled nuclear fission |
| 29. | Gabor, D. | America | Holography |
| 30. | Galileo, Galilei | Italy | Law of inertia |
| 31. | Grahm Bel | America | Telephone |
| 32. | Hertz, Heinrich Rudolf | Germany | Electromagnetic waves |
| 33. | Hess, V.F. | Austria | Cosmic rays |
| 34. | Huygens, Christian | Holland | Wave theory of light |
| 35. | Hubble, Edwin | America | Expanding universe |
| 36. | Heisenberg, Wernes | Germany | Uncertainty principle, Quantum mechanics |
| 37. | Kamerling Onnes | Dutch | Low temperature and liquid helium |
| 38. | Kelvin (William Thomson) | England | Second law of thermodynamics, thermodynamic scale of temperature |
| 39. | Landau, Lev Davidovich | Russia | Theory of condensed matter, Liquid helium |
| 40. | Lawrence, E.O. | America | Cyclotron |
| 41. | Lippman, G. | France | Colour photography |
| 42. | Maxwell, James Cleric | England | Electromagnetic theory, Light as an electromagnetic wave |
| 43. | Michelson, A.A. | America | Precision optical instruments |
| 44. | Marconi | Italy | Wireless telegraphy |
| 45. | Millikan, R.A. | America | Measurement of charge on an electron |
| 46. | Newton, Isaac | England | Law of gravitation, Laws of motion, Reflecting telescope |
| 47. | Oersted | France | Magnetic effect of current |
| 48. | Planck, Max | Germany | Quantum theory of radiation . |
| 49. | Pauli, W. | America | Exclusion principle for filling electrons in orbitals |
| 50. | Raman, C.V. | India | Inelastic scattering of light (Raman effect) |
| 51. | Ramachandran, G.N. | India | Triple helical structure of proteins molecules |
| 52. | Robert Boyle | England | Boyle’s law |
| 53. | Robert Hooke | England | Elasticity of solids, balance wheel of a watch |
| 54. | Rutherford, Ernest | England | Nuclear model of atom |
| 55. | Roentgen, W.K. | Germany | X-rays |
| 56. | S. Chandershekhar | America (India born) | Structure and evolution of stars, Chandrashekhar limit |
| 57. | Schrodinger, E. | Germany | Wave mechanics |
| 58. | Saha, M.N. | India | Thermal ionisation |
| 59. | Thomson, J.∫. | England | Electron |
| 60. | Thomson, G.P. | England | Diffraction of electrons by crystals |
| 61. | Townes, C.H. | America | Maser, Laser |
| 62. | Van der Walls, J.D. | Dutch | Expansion of gases and liquids |
| 63. | Von Laue, Max | Germany | Diffraction of X-rays in crystals |
| 64. | Volta | Italy | Discovered first battery |
| 65. | Wein, W. | Germany | Laws of radiation of heat |
| 66. | Watt, James | England | Steam Engine |
| 67. | Yukawa, Hedeki | Japan | Meson theory of nuclear forces |