The title is about my majoring on specific topics of physics. I recently finished my Physics degree and was offered a chance to join MSc in Applied Physics. Focusing more on engineering. And I come into realisation that I'm shifting towards something I've never done before. Engineering. My main focus on my BSc was on Nuclear and Particle physics.

Not that I wanted to refuse the offer. Tbh, it is interesting for me. But I wanted a second opinion and was wondering. Do you guys think it is possible to change to major like particle physics after having a MSc focused more on applied physics?

I’m a rising senior thinking of majoring in physics and eventually getting my phd in grad school, and I’m applying to college via QuestBridge, which features a LOT of liberal arts colleges. I’m not as competitive as I’d like to be for the typical recommendations of MIT or Caltech or whatever, so I’m really considering these LACs in order to graduate debt free. Does anyone here have any insight into the strength of programs within colleges like Williams, Pomona, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, and so on?

https://preview.redd.it/fhsdvd0dolcd1.png?width=1918&format=png&auto=webp&s=1376e4db24438d96df61c1cb59c0f40060b9185f

I just happened to find a website that can help you compose LaTeX formulas more quickly. It has buttons containing LaTeX code for commonly used formulas, so you don't need to remember the LaTeX code for the formula you want to type. Additionally, it also has Snippet features and the ability to pin formulas you frequently use, allowing for faster searches in subsequent uses. It also includes support for some keyboard shortcuts. Link: https://latexag.vercel.app/

I'll keep it short, not a fan of writing book-long reddit posts

We can all relate to that one moment where we realized how something works thanks to a physical equation and thought "Wow, that's amazing!". Then in a BSc settings, your life is centered around solving riddles by acquiring new tools and knowledge, probably the best experience. In PhD you have ups and downs, but in general, you live the life of a student and end up being a doctor, so life is good.

Then you finish your PhD, get out of university, and realize you dedicated the last 4-6 years of your life into something that is extremely specialized. The probability of having a single person in your hometown understand more than two sentences about your research is slim to none, let alone someone in your age group. Life is lonely when 80% of what you do in life can't be shared with anyone else.

Then you find yourself in the industry. People designate you as an all-around thinker and problem solver. You have to keep learning, because there's so much you need to know to be helpful and productive, yet now it feels like you're getting diminishing returns on your investment. Problem solving in real life is much more difficult than solving the last page of questions in your statistical mechanics book. To be good at what you do you have to keep studying. Your 9-5 job expands well into reading papers/books and taking online courses in your off-time.

You grind, gain new knowledge, forget old knowledge, learn "how to think as a physicist" and kinda forget "how to think as a human being", living a secluded lifestyle with very few people who can relate to what you're going through.

I was successful in my studies. My PhD experience was positive, I have good friends, I'm married, I found multiple jobs very easily. Yet the grind is real, I'm bored of being a physicist, and I'm bored of being around physicists. I always felt that once you go "full physicist", you become a different human being. I want the old me back.

Hi everyone,

I'm a physics student and I'm planning to create a series of explanations about various physical phenomena. I need your help! What questions do you have about physics? Whether it's about everyday observations or more complex concepts – I'd love to know what interests you.

Please share your questions so I can consider them in my explanations.

Thanks in advance!

My wife just got a really big electric shock (I heard it from the next room!) from a plastic garden fertilizer bottle left out in the sun for a few days. She carried it inside and it immediately shocked her upon opening. It's a neptunes harvest liquid fertilizer bottle.

My theory is the heat from the sun caused some kind of off-gassing from the fertilizer, and it built-up in the bottle, then upon opening the rush of oxygen started some spontaneous reaction, but of course usually I expect fire and not an electrical discharge.

Very weird to me, any ideas?

I have a question for you guys. Has it yet been definitely confirmed that the muon has an anomalous magnetic moment that can't be explained by the Standard Model, and if so, what are some alternate theories that might be able to explain it?

I am currently an Undergraduate finishing my second year. I found the course on Statistical Mechanics fun. I also enjoyed the math course on Probability and Stochastic Processes. I am planning to do research in theoretical physics in future so I was wondering what does research looks like in Statistical Mechanics.

Would like to know the country as well. Not trying to dox you, just curious.

Hey Reddit,

I just wrapped my head around the airplane on a treadmill problem and it blew my mind. I originally thought the plane wouldn't take off, but the actual physics behind it are super cool.

I'm on the hunt for more puzzles or problems like that, stuff that seems crazy or confusing at first but has a really interesting explanation once you get it. It doesn't have to be just physics, any kind of brain teaser or weird logic puzzle is great!

What are some of your favorite mind-bending problems that you know of?

not sure if this is where i should post this but ill give it a go.

Our cats sometimes miss the litter box. When that happens, the urine eventually runs under the litter box. The person I live with doesn't believe that is possible. She thinks that either I'm getting up in the middle of the night and peeing under the box, or someone else is breaking into the apartment and then peeing under the box. She doesn't think liquid can move on a flat surface, that it should only be possible on a hill. Are they any good videos I can show her of this process so that I can get it though her thick skull?

This is a thread dedicated to collating and collecting all of the great recommendations for textbooks, online lecture series, documentaries and other resources that are frequently made/requested on /r/Physics.

If you're in need of something to supplement your understanding, please feel welcome to ask in the comments.

Similarly, if you know of some amazing resource you would like to share, you're welcome to post it in the comments.

This is a dedicated thread for you to seek and provide advice concerning education and careers in physics.

If you need to make an important decision regarding your future, or want to know what your options are, please feel welcome to post a comment below.

A few years ago we held a graduate student panel, where many recently accepted grad students answered questions about the application process. That thread is here, and has a lot of great information in it.

Helpful subreddits: /r/PhysicsStudents, /r/GradSchool, /r/AskAcademia, /r/Jobs, /r/CareerGuidance

Hey everyone, I was (un)fortunate enough to get a offer from Oxford (unconditional) as I already achieved my grades in August 2023 and was taking a gap year. However the fees for were £48,620 for 1 year with minor inflation increase every year (making the total cost more than £200k very easily) + living costs

I was relying on a scholarship from Oxford, The "Oxford Reach Scholarship". However, I was already expecting the worst and it happened as my thoughts. I didn't get the scholarship

So, obviously I had to resort to my other plan which was studying Physics at Leipzig University in Germany and their 4 year BSc Physics course (IPSP) and is in english. the course is similar to every german course of physics with the exception of adding a 4th year to choose some more electives. While the students have said the course is also good enough and wouldn't hinder your chances for master in a top uni for physics

I got the confirmation from Leipzig last month but I am still thinking of what If I would've taken the loan of £100k + rest of the expenses would've come from my parents' property that we would've sold to generate more.

The perk of Leipzig is that it's free to study as all public german unis (except TUM, they started fees this year) are free to study and it's in English (so no language barrier). Leipzig is pretty cheap as well

But what do you guys think? was it right to leave oxford physics for Leipzig's IPSP (Physics)?

Or Should I've taken the drastic step to study in Oxford by being in debt

I plan to stay in Academia (hopefully a PhD from a good uni in my Desired field)

Hi, I'm working on LLP exclusion plots on my current paper. I need to add a discussion regarding the most sensitive ATLAS/CMS searches why they come out on top when constraining LLPs. These "searches" are usually the ones that CheckMATE outputs in its result file e.g. "atlas_conf_2020_048" or "atlas_conf_2019_040". Do u know any relevant paper that I can consult about them? I just need to know why they are stronger in constraining LLPs than the other searches. I also wouldn't mind any paper that can be relevant in comparing the different signal regions that constrains LLPs e.g. "EM12" or "MB-SSd-2-4000-28".

This thread is a dedicated thread for you to ask and answer questions about concepts in physics.

Homework problems or specific calculations may be removed by the moderators. We ask that you post these in /r/AskPhysics or /r/HomeworkHelp instead.

If you find your question isn't answered here, or cannot wait for the next thread, please also try /r/AskScience and /r/AskPhysics.

What is your go to software/website for designing publication ready figures(making schematics and combining existing plots etc), either in Linux or Mac?

Hello everybody!

I am finalising my Master's thesis on the measurability of dark photons, and working out all the feedback I got from my supervisor. I had a last meeting with my supervisor this morning, but I forgot to ask about a certain part of feedback and I was wondering if you guys could help me out, as he normally does not respond to emails. In the image I provided, I am talking about the proper decay length of a dark photon. Could anyone explain how I can improve this part? Does it say 'decay time' in the feedback?

Thank you in advance!