ile sitting under an apple treehas been immortalized in every elementary school studentsmind. Of course few of them understand that his realefforts were to illustrate the motion of the planets. His supreme achievement lay in the recognition that theforce that caused an apple to fall to the ground and theforce that kept the moon in place in its orbit round theEarth were only different manifestations of one universalforce. (Burns, 195).Another one of the most crucial scientists wasGalileo Galilei. His clash with the Catholic Church andhis belief that man could determine the nature of realitywithout the churchs assistance, but rather through hisown observations, actually led to the conception of thescientific method. It was through his initial explorationthat he proved his theory of a heliocentric solar system. This disagreement with the churchs earth is the centerof the universe theory did cause him much strife, but hispublications helped eventually establish Copernicanthought.Another well known student and teacher of physics isAlbert Einstein. His theory of relativity paved the wayfor the creation of atomic energy and the detonation ofthe first atomic bomb. This same research also helped tofurther a better understanding of the motion of planets.The most revered physicist of modern day science hasto be Stephen Hawking. A student and professor ofphysics at Oxford university... (Hawking, 13), he notonly furthered our understanding of the universe throughhis research on the properties and existence of blackholes, but also attempted to explain his theories andothers to the everyday layman in his best selling book ABrief History of Time. These men observed the natural processes around themand developed theories and formulas to elucidate andcharacterize why things appeared the way they did. Inshort, physics is devoted to analysis and testing ofextensive logical structures that can be (and usually are)built on narrow bases of experience...
