# Applied physics

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{{short description|Connection between physics and engineering}}
{{Outline}}
{{Other uses|Applied Physics (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Military laser experiment.jpg|thumb|250px|Experiment using a [laser](/source/laser)]]
[[File:MRI head side.jpg|thumb|250px|A [magnetic resonance image](/source/magnetic_resonance_image)]]

'''Applied physics''' is the application of [physics](/source/physics) to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered a bridge or a connection between physics and [engineering](/source/engineering).
"Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination of factors, such as the motivation and attitude of researchers and the nature of the relationship to the [technology](/source/technology) or [science](/source/science) that may be affected by the work. Applied physics is rooted in the fundamental truths and basic concepts of the [physical science](/source/physical_science)s but is concerned with the utilization of scientific principles in practical devices and systems and with the application of physics in other areas of science and [high technology](/source/high_technology).<ref>{{cite web |title=General Information on Applied Physics |url=https://www.stanford.edu/dept/app-physics/general/ |publisher=Stanford Department of Applied Physics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307121331/http://www.stanford.edu/dept/app-physics/general/ |archive-date=7 March 2007}}</ref>

[[File:CFD Shuttle.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Computer modeling of the [Space Shuttle](/source/Space_Shuttle) during re-entry]]

==Examples of research and development areas==
*[Accelerator physics](/source/Accelerator_physics)
*[Acoustics](/source/Acoustics)
*[Atmospheric physics](/source/Atmospheric_physics)
*[Atomic, molecular, and optical physics](/source/Atomic%2C_molecular%2C_and_optical_physics)
*[Biophysics](/source/Biophysics)
*[Brain–computer interfacing](/source/Brain%E2%80%93computer_interface)
*[Chemical physics](/source/Chemical_physics)
*[Condensed matter physics](/source/Condensed_matter_physics)
*[Differentiable programming](/source/Differentiable_programming)
**[Artificial intelligence](/source/Artificial_intelligence)
**[Scientific computing](/source/Scientific_computing)
*[Engineering physics](/source/Engineering_physics)
**[Chemical engineering](/source/Chemical_engineering)
**[Electrical engineering](/source/Electrical_engineering)
***[Electronics engineering](/source/Electronics_engineering)
****[Computer science & engineering](/source/Computer_science)
*****[Artificial intelligence](/source/Artificial_intelligence)
******[Machine learning](/source/Machine_learning)
******[Deep learning](/source/Deep_learning)
******[Reinforcement learning](/source/Reinforcement_learning)
***[Power engineering](/source/Power_engineering)
****[Power electronics](/source/Power_electronics)
***[Control engineering](/source/Control_engineering)
**[Materials science and engineering](/source/Materials_science_and_engineering) and [Solid-state physics](/source/Solid-state_physics)
***[Metamaterials](/source/Metamaterials)
***[Nanotechnology](/source/Nanotechnology)
***[Semiconductor](/source/Semiconductor)s
***[Thin films](/source/Thin_films)
**[Mechanical engineering](/source/Mechanical_engineering)
***[Aerospace engineering](/source/Aerospace_engineering)
****[Astrodynamics](/source/Astrodynamics)
****[Electromagnetic propulsion](/source/Electromagnetic_propulsion)
****[Fluid mechanics](/source/Fluid_mechanics)
**[Military engineering](/source/Military_engineering)
***[Lidar](/source/Lidar)
***[Radar](/source/Radar)
***[Sonar](/source/Sonar)
***[Stealth technology](/source/Stealth_technology)
**[Nuclear engineering](/source/Nuclear_engineering)
***[Fission reactor](/source/Fission_reactor)s
***[Fusion reactor](/source/Fusion_reactor)s
**[Optical engineering](/source/Optical_engineering)
***[Photonics](/source/Photonics)
****[Cavity optomechanics](/source/Cavity_optomechanics)
****[Laser](/source/Laser)s
****[Photonic crystal](/source/Photonic_crystal)s
*[Geophysics](/source/Geophysics)
*[Materials physics](/source/Materials_physics)
*[Medical physics](/source/Medical_physics)
**[Health physics](/source/Health_physics)
***[Radiation dosimetry](/source/Radiation_dosimetry)
**[Medical imaging](/source/Medical_imaging)
***[Magnetic resonance imaging](/source/Magnetic_resonance_imaging)
**[Radiation therapy](/source/Radiation_therapy)
*[Microscopy](/source/Microscopy)
**[Scanning probe microscopy](/source/Scanning_probe_microscopy)
***[Atomic force microscopy](/source/Atomic_force_microscopy)
***[Scanning tunneling microscopy](/source/Scanning_tunneling_microscopy)
**[Scanning electron microscopy](/source/Scanning_electron_microscopy)
**[Transmission electron microscopy](/source/Transmission_electron_microscopy)
*[Nuclear physics](/source/Nuclear_physics)
**[Fission](/source/Nuclear_fission)
**[Fusion](/source/Nuclear_fusion)
*[Optical physics](/source/Optical_physics)
**[Nonlinear optics](/source/Nonlinear_optics)
**[Quantum optics](/source/Quantum_optics)
*[Plasma physics](/source/Plasma_physics)
*[Quantum technology](/source/Quantum_technology)
**[Quantum computing](/source/Quantum_computing)
**[Quantum cryptography](/source/Quantum_cryptography)
*[Renewable energy](/source/Renewable_energy)
*[Space physics](/source/Space_physics)
*[Spectroscopy](/source/Spectroscopy)

==See also==
*[Applied science](/source/Applied_science)
*[Applied mathematics](/source/Applied_mathematics)
*[Engineering](/source/Engineering)
*[Engineering physics](/source/Engineering_physics)
*[High technology](/source/High_tech)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Portal|Physics}}

{{Physics-footer}}
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Category:Applied and interdisciplinary physics
Category:Engineering disciplines

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Applied physics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_physics) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_physics?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.