The Frontiers of Physics and Their Roles in Society

Abstract

The paper presents a broad overview of the most recent developments in all the major subfields of physics together with illustrations of recent societal applications of these subfields and developments. It is argued that the past five years have been among the most exciting and productive of any in the history of the science in terms both of fundamental discoveries concerning the structure and dynamics of the natural universe and of practical application of these and other discoveries to the alleviation of human problems. Emphasis is placed on the unity of the science and on the challenges that lie ahead.The Nature of Physics"Science is knowing. What man knows about inanimate nature in physics, or rather the most lasting and universal things that he knows make up physics. As he gains more knowledge, what would have appeared complicated or capricious can be seen as essentially simple and in a deep sense orderly. And, to understand how things work is to see how, within environmental constraints and the limitations of wisdom, better to accommodate nature to man and man to nature."Physics in Perspective, Vol. 1, p. 55. US National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C., 1972