IB Physics Project Ideas - Analytical or Experimental?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on selecting a topic for an extended essay in the International Baccalaureate (IB) physics program. The participant expresses a preference for theoretical physics over experimental physics and is considering classical field theory but is uncertain about specific research ideas. They mention having a strong background in calculus, classical mechanics, undergraduate-level electromagnetism, and some relativity. Suggestions from other participants include modeling the movement of charges in electromagnetic fields, exploring gravitational interactions between multiple masses, analyzing voltage in circuits, and investigating Stefan's Law related to ice growth. The participant acknowledges a lack of programming skills, which limits their ability to model complex systems, but remains open to exploring the suggested ideas.
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Hello, I'd really appreciate some opinions on this- I'll get a chance to do an extended essay for the IB program and I'm choosing physics, obviously. I'm not quite sure what to work on. I can choose to research something relating to experimental physics (where I design an experiment to find a relation between different physical quantities) or relating to theoretical physics (where I create a model for something, or maybe give an analytical discussion of a topic).

It can't be something too broad, since the essay has a word limit of 4000. I get about 6 months to do this project, so once I start I'll have a long time to learn stuff if I need to. I'd rather do something more theoretical than experimental. Any thoughts on what could be good? I'm thinking classical field theory could be interesting to look into, but I have no idea what I could do related to that subject.
 
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It might help to explain what level of education you have and what 'IB' is.
 
Yeah, you're right, sorry. IB is international baccalaureate- it's *sort of* like A levels.
I'm pretty advanced for a high school student- I know calc, classical mechanics (only a bit of Lagrangian stuff, though), undegrad level EM, and some relativity (as well as garden variety first year physics stuff- fluids, waves, etc.).
 
Do you know any programming? Then you could try to model something you find interesting.

Movement of charges in weird electromagnetic fields, start with something straight forward.

Two masses orbiting each other due to gravity, add in more objects or forces for more fun.

Voltage in some circuit.

Stefans Law, regarding growth of fresh ice floating on water. Add in heat fluxes, meteorological data for more fun.

This thread had some good suggestions as well: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=766646
 
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Some really cool ideas, thanks! Unfortunately I suck at programming so I won't be able to model anything :(. But we'll see..
 

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