1. ^ Physics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1a. ^ Richard Feynman begins with the atomic hypothesis , as his most compact statement of all scientific knowledge: "If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generations ..., what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is ... that all things are made up of atoms – little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another. ..." R.P. Feynman, R.B. Leighton, M. Sands (1963). The Feynman Lectures on Physics . 1. p. I-2. ISBN 0-201-02116-1 .
1b. ^ J.C. Maxwell (1878). Matter and Motion . D. Van Nostrand. p. 9. “Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular succession of events.”
1c. ^ H.D. Young, R.A. Freedman (2004). University Physics with Modern Physics (11th ed.) . Addison Wesley . p. 2. “Physics is an experimental science. Physicists observe the phenomena of nature and try to find patterns and principles that relate these phenomena. These patterns are called physical theories or, when they are very well established and of broad use, physical laws or principles.”
1d. ^ S. Holzner (2006). Physics for Dummies. Wiley . p. 7. “Physics is the study of your world and the world and universe around you.”

1e. ^ Note: The term 'universe' is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. However, the term 'universe' may also be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting concepts such as the cosmos or the philosophical world .
1f. ^ Evidence exists that the earliest civilizations dating back to beyond 3000 BCE, such as the Sumerians , Ancient Egyptians , and the Indus Valley Civilization , all had a predictive knowledge and a very basic understanding of the motions of the Sun, Moon, and stars.
1g. ^ Francis Bacon 's 1620 Novum Organum was critical in the development of scientific method .