Requesting (advice) and help on academic assignment.

sick1

1. The situation

Hi, I'm in the UK and just finished my first year of college, and now I need to do a 2000 word academic assignment (on physics) for my college so I can show Unis. I am 17 and a competent, interested young physicist.

2. The problem

I am very much interested in physics, mainly particle physics (string theory) and astrophysics (black holes, dark matters, everything). However, I can't think of a topic to do my assignment on. I would want something that is interesting and deep enough for me to get my teeth into, but not something to be overwhelmed with and not understand completely. I have just got my A in AS physics and an A* in A level maths so you have an idea of what I can and can't do.

3. The attempt at a solution

I have tried looking into topics like Curiosity, dark matter, string theory and the theory of everything, but I can't seem to translate that into an academic task for me to write about, I would be over the moon if someone could point me in the right direction.

Too Long Didn't Read: I am not asking for help WITH the project itself; the reading into it and research and writing of it I can do myself, I just need a project idea or a thesis that I can get into. (For example, I just did a maths paper on "Explore the mathematics behind public key cryptography", something like that in terms of physics would be great!)

tiny-tim

hi sick1! welcome to pf!
i wouldn't touch string theory, dark matter etc, it's far too complicated

Curiosity (I assume you mean the Mars one! ) is mostly about engineering, chemistry and biology, rather than physics

but since you seem interested in astronomy, how about writing about magnetospheres, or the heliosphere?

sick1

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I thought all those topics would be too complicated, which is why I was reluctant to start an assignment into it.

The Mars Curiosity? What's that? Haha kidding, and I don't want to sound like I'm brushing of your idea of the magnetosphere/heliosphere (I'll look into it as soon as), but while doing my assignment on cryptography, it mentioned Quantum Computing and I was wondering, perhaps I could link my new assignment into Quantum computing, more importantly, the physics side of things. Perhaps I could do something like 'How long till Quantum Computers are on every desk' and then explain the physics behind it? Opinions? I would LOVE to do the physics behind quantum computing/ quantum theory, but would it be a feasible idea?

Also, is there a way I can thank you for your post on this forum? I know on other forums you can add reputation points to users. Once again, thanks for taking the time to reply!

tiny-tim

hi sick1!

(just got up )
i know nothing about quantum computing, but yes it sounds feasible (not particularly complicated, and doable in 2000 words)

(and no, we don't have "rep" points … just good old-fashioned "thankyous"! )

sick1

Hi tim, don't worry, my sleep pattern is terrible, sleep at 6am and up at noon haha

But yeah I think doing it on quantum computing sounds like a good idea because it relates to my other assignment, and I find it interesting, here's hoping there's enough physics and little IT involved

And in that case I hope my Thank you is enough :)