'Modern' physics? What's that?

Oh, hai, Corkey,

wiki definition:

Modern physics is the post-Newtonian conception of physics. It implies that classical descriptions of phenomena are lacking, and that an accurate, "modern", description of nature requires theories to incorporate elements of quantum mechanics or Einsteinian relativity, or both.

Pictorially (the 'most modern' physics is at lower right, LHC, black holes &c):

As far as I'm concerned, physics is physics is physics. There is no so-called 'modern' or, shall we say, 'ancient' physics.

It's all physics.

The difference is between classical and modern physics. The terms are used to separate models of a quantum, relativistic, or both nature from those that do not take these ideas into account (e.g. Newtonian mechanics). Try a search on "modern physics textbook" to see how many titles fall under the category.

There's even a book called "Modern Classical Physics" by Kip Thorne + 1. That's bound to irk some.

This is like getting worked-up over Organic and Inorganic chemistry - it is still chemistry.

Not really, the difference between a classical theory and a quantum theory, for example, is that nature turned out to be quantum mechanical, not classical. See, for example, the Ultraviolet Catastrophe in black body radiation.

Further, there is no classical counterpart to account for Bell's inequalities.

Also, Newtonian mechanics can be used to account for 1/2 the deflection of distant starlight due to the presence of the Sun but it needed full-blown General Relativity theory to get the full deflection, as observed.

And onwards - there would be no spectroscopy without the absorption and emission lines of quantum theory.

Inorganic chemistry for me.

When I started organic chemistry things got difficult so I change over to electronics...