Develop theories and laws on the basis of observation and experiments, and apply these theories and laws to problems in areas such as nuclear energy, optics, and aerospace technology.

“Develop theories and laws on the basis of observation and experiments, and apply these theories and laws to problems in areas such as nuclear energy, optics, and aerospace technology.” is a supplemental task performed by Physicists. Among the occupation's 15 rated tasks, workers place it 7th by importance (#9 most important). About 60% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Develop scientific or mathematical theories or models. in Thinking Creatively

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E1. Direct exposure — a language model could plausibly cut the time to do this task by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 1.00. Automation potential label: T1.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Perform complex calculations as part of the analysis and evaluation of data, using computers. · importance 4.3
• Analyze data from research conducted to detect and measure physical phenomena. · importance 4.2
• Describe and express observations and conclusions in mathematical terms. · importance 4.0
• Design computer simulations to model physical data so that it can be better understood. · importance 4.0
• Write research proposals to receive funding. · importance 4.0
• Teach physics to students. · importance 4.0
• Report experimental results by writing papers for scientific journals or by presenting information at scientific conferences. · importance 3.9
• Observe the structure and properties of matter, and the transformation and propagation of energy, using equipment such as masers, lasers, and telescopes, to explore and identify the basic principles governing these phenomena. · importance 3.8
• Collaborate with other scientists in the design, development, and testing of experimental, industrial, or medical equipment, instrumentation, and procedures. · importance 3.5
• Develop manufacturing, assembly, and fabrication processes of lasers, masers, infrared, and other light-emitting and light-sensitive devices.
• Conduct application evaluations and analyze results to determine commercial, industrial, scientific, medical, military, or other uses for electro-optical devices.
• Develop standards of permissible concentrations of radioisotopes in liquids and gases.
• Conduct research pertaining to potential environmental impacts of atomic energy-related industrial development to determine licensing qualifications.
• Advise authorities of procedures to be followed in radiation incidents or hazards, and assist in civil defense planning.

See all tasks on the Physicists page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-10911,
  title  = {Develop theories and laws on the basis of observation and experiments, and apply these theories and laws to problems in areas such as nuclear energy, optics, and aerospace technology.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-10911}
}