Condensed Matter Physics, incorporating the study of solids and liquids, and the development of new materials, has, since the beginning of this century and the rise of modern physics, been a principal breaking ground for new ideas in physics. The complexities which are characteristic of condensed phases, arising from the mutual interaction of many particles, are among the deepest mysteries of physics and have attracted the attention of outstanding physicists of every modern generation. Condensed matter physics is unique among the various subfields of physics in the frequency with which it feeds its fundamental ideas into other areas of science. Advances in such sub-areas of condensed matter physics have had major impacts on other areas of physics and chemistry.
Of all the subfields of physics, condensed matter physics has the greatest impact on our daily lives through the technological development to which it gives rise. Semiconductor electronics and the computer revolution, modern plastic and composite materials, magnetic recording media, and X-ray and NMR tomography are examples of high technologies founded on condensed matter physics. A consequence of these applications is that condensed matter is the area where modern physics is most closely tied to high technology and industrial applications.