List of experiments in physics

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This is a list of notable experiments in physics. The list includes only experiments with Wikipedia articles. For hypothetical experiments, see thought experiment.

Historical experiments

More information Date of start, Experiment ...
Date of start Experiment Attribution Type About
1586 Delft tower experiment Simon Stevin and Jan Cornets de Groot Demonstration Same mass objects fall at the same speed on Earth
1643 Torricelli's experiment Evangelista Torricelli Demonstration Vacuum relation to atmospheric pressure
1654 Magdeburg hemispheres Otto von Guericke Demonstration Atmospheric pressure
1675 Rømer's determination of the speed of light Ole Rømer Measurement Speed of light
1747 's Gravesande's ring Willem 's Gravesande Demonstration Thermal expansion
1752 Kite experiment Thomas-François Dalibard/Benjamin Franklin Investigation Lightning
1774 Schiehallion experiment Nevil Maskelyne Measurement Vertical deflection, Earth density
1790 Pictet's experiment Marc-Auguste Pictet Demonstration Thermal radiation
1797 Cavendish experiment Henry Cavendish Measurement Gravitational constant
1799 Voltaic pile Alessandro Volta Demonstration First electric battery
1803 Young's interference experiment Thomas Young Confirmation Wave theory of light
1819 Arago spot experiment François Arago Confirmation Fresnel diffraction due to circular object
1838 Bedford Level experiment Samuel Rowbotham Measurement Curvature of the Earth
1843 Faraday's ice pail experiment Michael Faraday Demonstration Electromagnetic induction
1850 Foucault's measurements of the speed of light Léon Foucault Measurement Speed of light
1851 Fizeau experiment Hippolyte Fizeau Measurement Speed of light
1851 Foucault pendulum Léon Foucault Demonstration Earth's rotation
1852 Foucault's gyroscope Léon Foucault Demonstration Earth's rotation
1867 Kelvin water dropper Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) Demonstration Electrostatic generator
1867 Tyndall's bar breaker John Tyndall Demonstration Thermal expansion forces
1885 Eötvös experiment Loránd Eötvös Measurement Ratio between inertial and gravitational mass
1887 Michelson–Morley experiment Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley Negative result Luminiferous aether
1897 Thomson experiment J. J. Thomson Discovery Electron
1901 Trouton–Noble experiment Frederick Thomas Trouton and H. R. Noble. Negative result Luminiferous aether
1901 Kaufmann–Bucherer–Neumann experiments Walter Kaufmann, Alfred Bucherer, and others Investigation Dependence of the inertial mass of a charge and its velocity
1905 Rubens tube Heinrich Rubens Demonstration Standing wave
1908 Geiger–Marsden experiments Hans Geiger, Ernest Marsden, Ernest Rutherford Discovery Atomic nucleus
1909 Oil drop experiment Robert A. Millikan and Harvey Fletcher Measurement Elementary charge of the electron
1913 Compton generator Arthur Compton Demonstration Earth's rotation
1914 Franck–Hertz experiment James Franck and Gustav Hertz Confirmation Bohr model
1914 Blondel's experiments André Blondel Investigation Electromagnetic induction
1915 Einstein–de Haas experiment Albert Einstein and Wander Johannes de Haas Investigation Electron magnetic moment
1919 Eddington experiment Arthur Eddington Confirmation General relativity
1922 Stern–Gerlach experiment Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach Confirmation Angular momentum quantization
1923 Davisson–Germer experiment Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer Confirmation De Broglie hypothesis
1924 Bothe–Geiger coincidence experiment Walther Bothe and Hans Geiger Confirmation Compton effect / conservation of energy
1925 Michelson–Gale–Pearson experiment Albert A. Michelson and Henry G. Gale Measurement Earth's rotation
1929 Rüchardt experiment Eduard Rüchardt Measurement Heat capacity ratio
1932 Kennedy–Thorndike experiment Roy J. Kennedy and Edward M. Thorndike Confirmation Inertial frame invariance of speed of light
1938 Ives–Stilwell experiment Herbert E. Ives and G. R. Stilwell Confirmation Relativistic Doppler shift
1942 Chicago Pile-1 Enrico Fermi Demonstration First self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
1945 Trinity Manhattan Project Demonstration First nuclear weapon detonation
1947 Lamb–Retherford experiment Willis Lamb and Robert Retherford Discovery Lamb shift/Vacuum energy
1956 Wu experiment Chien-Shiung Wu Confirmation Parity violation
1956 Cowan–Reines neutrino experiment Clyde Cowan and Frederick Reines Confirmation Existence of neutrino
1957 Goldhaber experiment [fr] Maurice Goldhaber Confirmation Neutrino helicity
1958 Hughes–Drever experiment Giuseppe Cocconi and Edwin Ernest Salpeter Confirmation Lorentz covariance
1959 Pound–Rebka experiment Robert Pound and Glen A. Rebka Jr. Confirmation Gravitational redshift
1964 Discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation Arno Allan Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson Discovery Cosmic microwave background
1965 Homestake experiment Raymond Davis Jr. and John N. Bahcall Measurement Count solar neutrinos/solar neutrino problem
1970 Gargamelle CERN Discovery Neutral currents
1976 Gravity Probe A NASA Measurement Gravitational time dilation
1977 De Sitter double star experiment Kenneth Brecher Negative result de Sitter effect
1980 Aspect's experiment Alain Aspect Confirmation Violation of Bell's inequalities
1981 UA1 and UA2 experiments CERN Discovery W and Z bosons
1992 DØ experiment CERN Multiple Top quark
1998 Delayed-choice quantum eraser Marlan Scully Demonstration Delayed-choice (quantum mechanics)
2004 Gravity Probe B NASA/Stanford University Confirmation Frame-dragging
2012 Search for the Higgs boson CERN Confirmation Higgs boson
2015 First observation of gravitational waves LIGO Confirmation Gravitational waves
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