Description
In ancient times physical science was called natural philosophy, which meant thinking about and seeking to understand the natural world. Philosophers asked questions about the vastness of space and tried to determine the smallest part of matter.
Over the centuries people began to specialize. Astronomers investigated the stars and planets, physicists dealt with gravity and electromagnetic forces, and chemists delved into the structure of matter.
Today the physical sciences are still concerned with matter and energy, and the interactions in the fields of mechanics, acoustics, optics, heat, electricity, magnetism, radiation, atomic structure, and nuclear power. Scientists can explain what holds our universe together, what's inside an atom, and why people don't fall out of an upside-down roller coaster.
