The History of Physics

Posted by Katharine M. J. Osborne Oct 13, 2006

I've always been fascinated with the history of science. I remember watching the BBC series "The Day the Universe Changed" and "Connections" in utter awe. It's just amazing how people came up with all the ideas behind how the universe works.

The thing I lament though, is that the history of science is often taught in a very structured way that just pounds out any admiration you might have had for the subject. In school, you have to know who discovered what in which year. That's fantastic for remember who gets credit for what - but you lose the bigger picture of how the ideas lead to and enrich one another. It's just tedious.

I've started a new series of articles to lay out, in brief, how physics developed throughout history, so I hope you enjoy it!