Laying down the laws

摘要

When did physics become king? And what is its kingdom? According to Iwan Rhys Morus, a lecturer in history at the University of Wales, it was during the nineteenth century that physics became the most powerful and prestigious science in the United Kingdom and Germany. That does not necessarily mean that other sciences bowed down to physics ― the only other sciences he mentions are chemistry and astronomy, both of which had been dominant in the early part of the century. Apparently, chemistry failed to keep up with physics, while astronomy became more and more dependent on physical instruments and theories.