A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles which all ordinary matter is made (particle physics) to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole (cosmology). Education Nearly all the material a student encounters in the undergraduate physics curriculum is based on discoveries and insights of a century or more in the past. Newton?s laws of motion were formulated in the 17th century; Maxwell's equations, 19th century; and quantum mechanics, early 20th century. The undergraduate physics curriculum generally includes the following range of courses: chemistry, classical physics, astronomy, physics laboratory, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, optics, modern physics, quantum physics, nuclear physics, solid state physics. Undergraduate physics students must also take extensive ma