physics: Preservation of Learning

With the passing of the Greek civilization and the Roman civilization that followed it, Greek learning passed into the hands of the Muslim world that spread its influence from the E Mediterranean eastward into Asia, where it picked up contributions from the Chinese (papermaking, gunpowder) and the Hindus (the place-value decimal number system with a zero), and westward as far as Spain, where Islamic culture flourished in Córdoba, Toledo, and other cities. Little specific advance was made in physics during this period, but the preservation and study of Greek science by the Muslim world made possible the revival of learning in the West beginning in the 12th and 13th cent.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Particles, Energy, and Contemporary Physics
• Relativity and Quantum Mechanics
• Birth of Modern Physics
• Advances in Electricity, Magnetism, and Thermodynamics
• Development of Mechanics and Thermodynamics
• The Scientific Revolution
• Preservation of Learning
• Greek Contributions
• Modern Physics
• Classical Physics
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Physics