Dominic Walliman’s – Dominic Walliman’s animated “Map of Physics” follows the links from Newton to Maxwell, then into the branching worlds of relativity and quantum mechanics—ending at a philosophical “Chasm of Ignorance.” It’s part education, part design lesson in how to make com
A viewer clicks play and meets a problem that’s familiar to anyone who has tried to learn physics from the outside: the subject doesn’t feel like a single story. It feels like separate worlds that don’t talk to each other—predictable Newtonian forces on one side. later discoveries built out of paradox on the other.
In a new animated video, physicist Dominic Walliman offers a direct response to that frustration. “If you don’t already know physics. ” he says. “it’s difficult sometimes to see how all of these different subjects are related to each other.” His solution is a visual map that shows the connections between classical physics. quantum physics. and relativity.
The map begins with Newton. Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation. and his invention of calculus. form the first domain—set up as the “bedrock that the world of physics is built from. ” with physics and math shown as inseparable. The story doesn’t stop at well-trodden Newton; it detours through optics. describing how Newton’s interest in light waves anticipates James Clerk Maxwell’s work on electromagnetic fields.
From there, the map grows busier. Sub-disciplines proliferate—fluid mechanics. chaos theory. thermodynamics—while energy is presented as the guiding force moving through “various states.” Classical physics is shown as having prevailed and worked “perfectly well” until about 1900. when the clockwork universe of Newtonian mechanics “exploded” with new problems—both at very large and very small levels of description.
That change is where physics stops looking like a straight line. Walliman briefly explains how the discipline branches into relativity and quantum mechanics. He notes that most people are familiar with the basics of Einstein’s relativity. while quantum physics gets less coverage in the typical course of general education—partly because of its complexity and. crucially. because “at their edges. quantum explanations fail.”.
The video then reaches for a phrase that sticks: “the best description of the universe we have. ” Walliman says. referring to quantum field theory. But the map doesn’t pretend that every gap can be filled. Once quantum gravitation enters the picture. Walliman calls it “the giant Chasm of Ignorance. ” where speculative and controversial ideas—string theory and loop quantum gravity—attempt to bridge what remains unconfirmed.
After that, the journey ends where so many scientific questions end: philosophy. At the “Chasm of Ignorance. ” the video returns to the airy realm where it all began. positioning intellectual geography rather than neat mastery as the takeaway. For viewers with a typical science general education. it’s framed as a reminder—something that helps them see the field’s overall landscape.
If that sounds like a compliment to diagrams rather than equations. it’s because Walliman is also using his map to model how to communicate science itself. The video points viewers toward a poster version of “Walliman’s Map of Physics. ” available as a miniature image above. and also available as a digital download. Just below. Walliman appears in a TEDx talk demonstrating effective science communication. including “quantum physics for 7 year olds. ” phrased in the video description as 37. 57. or 77-year olds.
The post carrying the animated map notes an earlier version appeared on the site in 2016. tying this teaching effort to a longer conversation about making complex ideas shareable—without flattening them. Even the links that frame this learning arc. from animated physics explainers to material on figures like Galileo. Newton. Einstein. and Marie Curie. underline the same cultural impulse: science education that doesn’t ask people to memorize complexity. but to see how it connects.
Dominic Walliman Map of Physics physics communication Newton calculus optics James Clerk Maxwell electromagnetic fields fluid mechanics chaos theory thermodynamics energy states relativity Einstein quantum mechanics quantum field theory quantum gravity Chasm of Ignorance string theory loop quantum gravity philosophy TEDx science education
So is this like a video game map for physics? Cause if it ends at a “Chasm of Ignorance” I’m not sure that’s motivating lol.
I didn’t read it all but the headline says it turns confusion into a clear journey, which is what we all need. If it connects Newton to Maxwell then that sounds right? Like electricity was just hidden the whole time.
Newton to Maxwell to relativity to quantum is basically every physics unit ever, right. But I saw something once where quantum is just “weird math” and relativity is “time stuff,” so how do they show it’s one story. Also calculus inventing?? Didn’t someone else already do that.
This feels like they’re trying to make physics into a flowchart so your brain doesn’t melt. “Chasm of Ignorance” is kinda dramatic though, like ok what if you already know physics and you’re still confused, then what. I guess the point is you click play and it gives you a problem you recognize? Doesn’t sound like it fixes the problem, it just labels it.