Gravity
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy
Isaac Newton
Classical mechanics and the law of universal gravitation.
Source ↗PLOHOV E.S / OPEN SCIENCE
Physics Timeline
Discoveries from Newton to the present: sources, years and limits of interpretation.
Events: 16
Quantum physics
Quantum hypothesis for thermal radiation
Max Planck
Discrete oscillator energies in the description of the black-body spectrum.
Source ↗Quantum physics
Light quanta and the photoelectric effect
Albert Einstein
An explanation of the photoelectric effect using light quanta.
Source ↗Cosmology
An expanding universe
Georges Lemaître
Connecting solutions of cosmological equations to observed galaxy velocities.
Source ↗Cosmology
The relation between galaxy distances and velocities
Edwin Hubble
An observational study of the dependence of velocity on distance.
Source ↗Quantum physics
Bell's inequality
John Bell
A testable bound for classes of local hidden-variable models.
Source ↗Cosmology
Discovery of the cosmic microwave background
Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
The microwave background became a key observation supporting a hot early universe.
Source ↗Quantum physics
Experimental violation of Bell's inequality
Stuart Freedman and John Clauser
Photon polarization correlations agree with quantum predictions.
Source ↗Cosmology
The inflationary scenario
Alan Guth
An early stage of accelerated expansion was proposed; specific mechanisms remain under investigation.
Source ↗Cosmology
Accelerated expansion of the universe
Type Ia supernova teams
Supernova data indicate accelerated expansion under the analysis's cosmological assumptions.
Source ↗Gravity
Detection of GW150914
LIGO Scientific Collaboration
The signal was recorded in 2015; the announcement and paper appeared in 2016.
Source ↗Cosmology
Planck cosmological parameters
Planck Collaboration
Full-mission results; the reported parameters depend on the ΛCDM model.
Source ↗Gravity
An image of the surroundings of M87*
Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
A reconstructed radio image with a bright ring and a central brightness depression.
Source ↗Gravity
An image of Sagittarius A*
Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
Interferometric observations of the compact source at the center of the Milky Way.
Source ↗Cosmology
Timeline boundary: open questions
Not a discovery or a prediction
Dark matter, dark energy and quantum gravity remain open questions. No new discovery in 2026 is claimed here.
Source ↗A selective chronology, not a complete historical catalogue. Observation and publication dates can differ. 2026 is the review boundary, not an invented discovery.