The discovery of X-rays

X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Roentgen while studying the phenomena of

gaseous discharge. Using a cathode ray tube with a high voltage of several tens of
kilovolts, he noticed that salts of barium would fluoresce when brought near the tube,
although nothing visible was emitted by the tube. This effect persisted when the tube
was wrapped with a layer of black cardboard.

Roentgen soon established that the agency responsible for the fluorescence
originated at the point at which the stream of energetic electrons struck the glass wall
of the tube. Because of its unknown nature, he gave this agency the name X-rays. He
found that X-rays could manifest themselves by darkening wrapped photographic
plates, discharging charged electroscopes, as well as by causing fluorescence in a
number of different substances. He also found that X-rays can penetrate considerable
thicknesses of materials of low atomic number, whereas substances of high atomic
number are relatively opaque. Roentgen took the first steps in identifying the nature of
X-rays by using a system of slits to show that (1) they travel in straight lines, and that
(2) they are uncharged, because they are not deflected by electric or magnetic fields.

The discovery of X-rays aroused the interest of all physicists, and many
joined in the investigation of their properties. In 1899 Haga and Wind performed a
single slit diffraction experiment with X-rays which showed that (3) X-rays are a
wave motion phenomenon, and, from the size of the diffraction pattern, their
wavelength could be estimated to be 10-8 cm. In 1906 Barkla proved that (4) the
waves are transverse by showing that they can be polarized by scattering from many
materials.
 Theory that challenges Einstein's physics could soon be put to the test.

Einstein observed that the speed of light remains the same in any situation, and this
meant that space and time could be different in different situations. The assumption
that the speed of light is constant, and always has been, underpins many theories in
physics, such as Einstein's theory of general relativity. In particular, it plays a role in
models of what happened in the very early universe, seconds after the Big Bang.

But some researchers have suggested that the speed of light could have been
much higher in this early universe. Now, one of this theory's originators, Professor
João Magueijo from Imperial College London, working with Dr Niayesh Afshordi at
the Perimeter Institute in Canada, has made a prediction that could be used to test the
theory's validity.

Structures in the universe, for example galaxies, all formed from fluctuations in the
early universe -- tiny differences in density in certain regions. A record of these early
fluctuations is imprinted on the cosmic microwave background - a map of the oldest
light in the universe - in the form of a 'spectral index'. Cosmologists are currently
getting ever more precise readings of this figure, so that prediction could soon be
tested -- either confirming or ruling out the team's model of the early universe.

"The idea that the speed of light could be variable was radical when first proposed,
but with a numerical prediction, it becomes something physicists can actually test. If
true, it would mean that the laws of nature were not always the same as they are
today." Said Professor João Magueijo.

The testability of the varying speed of light theory sets it apart from the more
mainstream rival theory: inflation. Inflation says that the early universe went through
an extremely rapid expansion phase, much faster than the current rate of expansion of
the universe.

These theories are necessary to overcome what physicists call the 'horizon problem'.
The universe as we see it today appears to be everywhere broadly the same, for
example it has a relatively homogenous density.
This could only be true if all regions of the universe were able to influence each other.
However, if the speed of light has always been the same, then not enough time has
passed for light to have travelled to the edge of the universe, and 'even out' the energy.

The varying speed of light theory suggests that the speed of light was much higher in
the early universe, allowing the distant edges to be connected as the universe
expanded. The speed of light would have then dropped in a predictable way as the
density of the universe changed. This variability led the team to the prediction
published today and put the laws of physics in preservation.

Physics

Physics is the science of matter and its motion—the science that deals with concepts
such as force, energy, mass, and charge. As an experimental science, its goal is to
understand the natural world. In one form or another, physics is one of the oldest
academic disciplines; through its modern subfield of astronomy, it may be the oldest
of all.

Sometimes synonymous with philosophy, chemistry and even certain

branches of mathematics and biology during the last two millennia, physics emerged
as a modern science in the 17th century and these disciplines are now generally
distinct, although the boundaries remain difficult to define.

Advances in physics often translate to the technological sector, and

sometimes influence the other sciences, as well as mathematics and philosophy. For
example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism have led to the
widespread use of electrically driven devices (televisions, computers, home
appliances etc.); advances in thermodynamics led to the development of motorized
transport; and advances in mechanics led to the development of the calculus, quantum
chemistry, and the use of instruments like the electron microscope in microbiology.
Today, physics is a broad and highly developed subject.
 Research is often divided into four subfields: condensed matter physics;
atomic, molecular, and optical physics; high energy physics; and astronomy and
astrophysics. Most physicists also specialize in either theoretical or experimental
research, the former dealing with the development of new theories, and the latter
dealing with the experimental testing of theories and the discovery of new
phenomena.

Despite important discoveries during the last four centuries, there are a
number of open questions in physics, and many areas of active research. Although
physics encompasses a wide variety of phenomena, all competent physicists are
familiar with the basic theories of classical mechanics, electromagnetism, relativity,
thermodynamics, and quantum mechanics. Each of these theories has been tested in
numerous experiments and proven to be an accurate model of nature within its
domain of validity. For example, classical mechanics correctly describes the motion
of objects in everyday experience, but it breaks down at the atomic scale, where it is
superseded by quantum mechanics, and at speeds approaching the speed of light,
where relativistic effects become important.

While these theories have long been well-understood, they continue to be

areas of active research—for example, a remarkable aspect of classical mechanics
known as chaos theory was developed in the 20th century, three centuries after the
original formulation of mechanics by Isaac Newton (1642–1727).