Outline of Physics - Nature of Physics

Nature of Physics

Physics can be described as all of the following:

• An academic discipline – one with academic departments, curricula and degrees; national and international societies; and specialized journals.
• A scientific field (a branch of science) – widely-recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature. Such a field will usually be represented by one or more scientific journals, where peer-reviewed research is published. There are several geophysics-related scientific journals.
  • A natural science – one that seeks to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world using empirical and scientific method.
    • A physical science – one that studies non-living systems.
    • A biological science – one that studies the role of physical processes in living organisms. See Outline of biophysics.