Recent content by Marisa5

I would presume that nuclear has demand for computer engineers to design control systems and such (I don't know a whole lot about computer engineering, sorry), so maybe you could get into the stuff you want tangentially and then learn the physics you want from the other people working there...

You might lack discipline, perhaps due to poorly defined life goals. Clearly state to yourself what you truly want and build it brick by brick, nobody can do that for you. Undergrad can be difficult but you'll be tested to a much higher degree beyond that so you need to make sure that what...

If you take a graph of binding energy as a function of atomic number and flip it upside down, you'll see that helium 4 makes essentially a large potential well at the beginning of the chart. This makes it a state that is more likely to occur than the others because energy has to be added to get...

All of the photons are emitted in a random direction, the only ones that get amplified are the ones along the longitudinal axis of the laser due to stimulated emission creating coherent photons. The rest are absorbed by the walls outside the cavity because they miss the mirrors on each end. A...

Physics teaches you how atoms are moving, chemistry teaches you what atoms are doing. As the pursuit of science is the pursuit of understanding nature, I don't understand why an intro chemistry requirement is worth any concern.

After I got a BS in chemistry and accepted into an MS program, I began looking at PhD programs and realized I didn't want to work on the research being done. Because I've always loved physics I can tell you a thousand projects I'd like to work on and ended up switching to physics and doing two...

How much is it worth it to you to pursue the career you want? I understand college is ridiculously expensive, but the question still holds in my opinion. When you're old and reflecting on your life, what decisions will you wish you had made?

It's possible, although very difficult, to understand undergrad and graduate textbooks without an undergrad background in physics. Towards the end of your undergrad in physics, you'll have developed a stronger ability to follow textbooks without an instructor lecturing out of them, meaning you...

When you hit roadblocks you can always ask questions on here to get you back on track. <3

I'd recommend QM II while the first course is still fresh so you can get more out of it. The same applies to EM assuming you have to take a year of it.

Worries: 1. I got a 2.0 in intermediate algebra in 2010 with a decent effort (before I wanted to do physics), now I do physics. If physics is your goal then your motivation to really grasp math will increase tremendously as it's now relevant to your aspirations. It can be done. 2. It depends on...

Pursue physics.

I wouldn't recommend it because the amount of stuff to catch up on is pretty wild. You need to make sure you're 100% committed to physics. After finishing a chemistry BS, it'll still be two full years before you can get a physics BS, so that should give you some idea of what lies ahead. I find...

What you need to do is look at a lot of different universities and see what research they are actually doing. I switched to physics from chemistry after getting a BS because I realized I couldn't find a research program I wanted to do more than the thousand things in physics that I'd love to do.

Excellent point, I definitely think you've changed my opinion on the significance of completing a minor (assuming it is relevant for the job being sought). Thanks for your insight.