| Newton's Second Law (F = ma) |
Isaac Newton |
England |
Classical mechanics |
Fundamental equation of motion, used in all areas of physics |
1687 |
1 |
| Maxwell's Equations |
James Clerk Maxwell |
Scotland |
Electromagnetism |
Unified electricity, magnetism, and light; basis for modern electrodynamics |
1865 |
2 |
| Schrödinger Equation |
Erwin Schrödinger |
Austria |
Quantum mechanics |
Describes the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic level |
1926 |
3 |
| Einstein's Energy-Mass Equivalence (E = mc^2) |
Albert Einstein |
Germany/Switzerland |
Special relativity, nuclear physics |
Relates energy to mass, key to understanding nuclear reactions and energy |
1905 |
4 |
| Hubble's Law |
Edwin Hubble |
United States |
Cosmology |
Established the expansion of the universe, cornerstone of Big Bang theory |
1929 |
5 |
| Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle |
Werner Heisenberg |
Germany |
Quantum mechanics |
Fundamental limit on precision of measurements at quantum scale |
1927 |
6 |
| Boltzmann's Entropy Equation |
Ludwig Boltzmann |
Austria |
Thermodynamics, statistical mechanics |
Relates entropy to number of microscopic states, foundation of statistical physics |
1877 |
7 |
| Planck's Energy Quantum |
Max Planck |
Germany |
Quantum mechanics |
Introduced the concept of energy quanta, launching quantum theory |
1900 |
8 |
| Dirac Equation |
Paul Dirac |
England |
Quantum mechanics, special relativity |
Relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation, predicted antimatter |
1928 |
9 |
| Euler's Equation (e^(i*pi) + 1 = 0) |
Leonhard Euler |
Switzerland |
Complex analysis |
Relates fundamental constants e, i, pi; considered most beautiful equation |
1748 |
10 |
| Principle of Least Action |
Pierre Louis Maupertuis |
France |
Classical mechanics |
Alternative formulation of mechanics using variational principle |
1744 |
11 |
| Noether's Theorem |
Emmy Noether |
Germany |
Theoretical physics |
Connects symmetries to conservation laws, fundamental to modern physics |
1915 |
12 |
| Navier-Stokes Equations |
Claude-Louis Navier, George Stokes |
France, Ireland |
Fluid dynamics |
Describes motion of viscous fluids, used in aerodynamics, weather, & more |
1822 |
13 |
| Riemann Hypothesis |
Bernhard Riemann |
Germany |
Number theory |
Conjectured rule for distribution of prime numbers, unproven but very important |
1859 |
14 |
| Gauss's Law |
Carl Friedrich Gauss |
Germany |
Electrostatics |
Relates electric field to charge distribution, part of Maxwell's equations |
1835 |
15 |
| Ampère's Circuital Law |
André-Marie Ampère |
France |
Magnetostatics |
Relates magnetic field to electric current, part of Maxwell's equations |
1826 |
16 |
| Faraday's Law of Induction |
Michael Faraday |
England |
Electromagnetism |
Describes how changing magnetic field induces electric field |
1831 |
17 |
| Boyle's Law |
Robert Boyle |
Ireland |
Thermodynamics |
Relates pressure and volume of gas at constant temperature |
1662 |
18 |
| Fourier's Heat Equation |
Joseph Fourier |
France |
Heat transfer |
Describes conduction of heat in solids, used in many applications |
1822 |
19 |
| Coulomb's Law |
Charles-Augustin de Coulomb |
France |
Electrostatics |
Describes force between electric charges, foundation of electrostatics |
1785 |
20 |
| Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion |
Johannes Kepler |
Germany |
Astronomy |
Describes motion of planets around the Sun, basis for Newton's gravity |
1609 |
21 |
| Lorentz Force Law |
Hendrik Lorentz |
Netherlands |
Electromagnetism |
Describes force on charge moving in electromagnetic field |
1895 |
22 |
| Biot-Savart Law |
Jean-Baptiste Biot, Félix Savart |
France |
Magnetostatics |
Describes magnetic field generated by electric current |
1820 |
23 |
| Fermat's Principle of Least Time |
Pierre de Fermat |
France |
Optics |
Light travels path that takes least time, explains refraction and reflection |
1662 |
24 |
| Fresnel Equations |
Augustin-Jean Fresnel |
France |
Optics |
Describe reflection and transmission of light at interface between media |
1823 |
25 |
| Snell's Law |
Willebrord Snellius |
Netherlands |
Optics |
Relates angles of incidence and refraction for light crossing boundary |
1621 |
26 |
| Hooke's Law |
Robert Hooke |
England |
Mechanics, materials science |
Linearly relates force and extension in spring, describes elastic materials |
1660 |
27 |
| Bragg's Law |
William Henry Bragg, William Lawrence Bragg |
England |
Crystallography |
Describes condition for diffraction by crystal lattice planes |
1913 |
28 |
| Carnot's Theorem |
Sadi Carnot |
France |
Thermodynamics |
Limits the maximum efficiency of any heat engine |
1824 |
29 |
| Lagrange's Equations |
Joseph-Louis Lagrange |
Italy/France |
Classical mechanics |
Reformulates Newtonian mechanics, basis for Hamiltonian mechanics |
1788 |
30 |