S: (n) avionics (science and technology of electronic systems and devices for aeronautics and astronautics) "avionics has become even more important with the development of the space program"
S: (n) kinematics (the branch of mechanics concerned with motion without reference to force or mass)
S: (n) aeromechanics, aerodynamics (the branch of mechanics that deals with the motion of gases (especially air) and their effects on bodies in the flow)
S: (n) optics (the branch of physics that studies the physical properties of light)
S: (n) catoptrics (branch of optics dealing with formation of images by mirrors)
S: (n) holography (the branch of optics that deals with the use of coherent light from a laser in order to make a hologram that can then be used to create a three-dimensional image)
S: (n) quantum mechanics (the branch of quantum physics that accounts for matter at the atomic level; an extension of statistical mechanics based on quantum theory (especially the Pauli exclusion principle))
S: (n) wave mechanics (the modern form of quantum theory; an extension of quantum mechanics based on Schrodinger's equation; atomic events are explained as interactions between particle waves)
S: (n) quantum field theory (the branch of quantum physics that is concerned with the theory of fields; it was motivated by the question of how an atom radiates light as its electrons jump from excited states)
S: (n) quantum electrodynamics, QED (a relativistic quantum theory of the electromagnetic interactions of photons and electrons and muons)
S: (n) quantum chromodynamics, QCD (a theory of strong interactions between elementary particles (including the interaction that binds protons and neutrons in the nucleus); it assumes that strongly interacting particles (hadrons) are made of quarks and that gluons bind the quarks together)
S: (n) rheology (the branch of physics that studies the deformation and flow of matter)
S: (n) solid-state physics (the branch of physics that studies the properties of materials in the solid state: electrical conduction in crystals of semiconductors and metals; superconductivity; photoconductivity)
S: (n) statistical mechanics (the branch of physics that makes theoretical predictions about the behavior of macroscopic systems on the basis of statistical laws governing its component particles)
S: (n) thermodynamics (the branch of physics concerned with the conversion of different forms of energy)