  One of the fundamental questions in science is how scientific disciplines
evolve and sustain progress in society. No studies to date allows us to explain
the endogenous processes that support the evolution of scientific disciplines
and emergence of new scientific fields in applied sciences of physics. This
study confronts this problem here by investigating the evolution of
experimental physics to explain and generalize some characteristics of the
dynamics of applied sciences. Empirical analysis suggests properties about the
evolution of experimental physics and in general of applied sciences, such as:
a) scientific fission, the evolution of scientific disciplines generates a
process of division into two or more research fields that evolve as autonomous
entities over time; b) ambidextrous drivers of science, the evolution of
science via scientific fission is due to scientific discoveries or new
technologies; c) new driving research fields, the drivers of scientific
disciplines are new research fields rather than old ones; d) science driven by
development of general purpose technologies, the evolution of experimental
physics and applied sciences is due to the convergence of experimental and
theoretical branches of physics associated with the development of computer,
information systems and applied computational science. Results also reveal that
average duration of the upwave of scientific production in scientific fields
supporting experimental physics is about 80 years. Overall, then, this study
begins the process of clarifying and generalizing, as far as possible, some
characteristics of the evolutionary dynamics of scientific disciplines that can
lay a foundation for the development of comprehensive properties explaining the
evolution of science as a whole for supporting fruitful research policy
implications directed to advancement of science and technological progress in
society.
