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→Further Development of Classical Physics
===Further Development of Classical Physics===
===Further Development of Classical Physics===
Newtonian mechanics was expanded by several other scientists, notably [[Pierre-Simon Laplace]] and [[Joseph-Louis Lagrange]]. The motions of
As Newton's laws became the dominant tool in physical science, they began to be applied to phenomena other than gravitational interactions. During the first half of the 19th century, several laws governing electricity and magnetism were discovered. In the mid-1860s, [[James Clerk Maxwell]] unified these individual laws into a single set of [[Maxwell's equations|equations]]. Maxwell was able to derive a [[wave equation]] from his new set of equations, and found that the speed of the waves predicted by the equation was close to the measured [[speed of light]]. [[Thomas Young]] had [[double-slit experiment|demonstrated]] in 1801 that light had wavelike properties, but Maxwell's result provided the new insight that light waves were oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
As Newton's laws became the dominant tool in physical science, they began to be applied to phenomena other than gravitational interactions. During the first half of the 19th century, several laws governing electricity and magnetism were discovered. In the mid-1860s, [[James Clerk Maxwell]] unified these individual laws into a single set of [[Maxwell's equations|equations]]. Maxwell was able to derive a [[wave equation]] from his new set of equations, and found that the speed of the waves predicted by the equation was close to the measured [[speed of light]]. [[Thomas Young]] had [[double-slit experiment|demonstrated]] in 1801 that light had wavelike properties, but Maxwell's result provided the new insight that light waves were oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
Thermodynamics also came of age during the same era, leading to a better understanding of heat and entropy. A description of heat transfer by considering the motion of individual molecules was problematic due to the sheer number of particles in a typical gas, but [[Ludwig Boltzmann]], and others, developed a statistical framework for describing such problems that became known as [[statistical mechanics]].
Thermodynamics also came of age during roughly the same era. Advances by [[James Joule]], [[Sadi Carnot]], and [[Lord Kelvin]], among many others, led to a better understanding of heat and entropy, and the formulation of the laws of thermodynamics. Later, attempts to relate the behavior of particles on the atomic and molecular level to the properties of large aggregates of such particles led to the development of [[statistical mechanics]].
===The Modern Era===
===The Modern Era===