Choices Definition and 105 Threads

Hi, I hope someone can chime in and offer some advice. I'm 32 and made the decision to go to college for the first time and earn a Physics degree and then to ultimately pursue a doctorate in a specialty to be decided later. (as of now, from what I can learn on my own, I'm up in the air...

I'm a bit of a polling junkie, and in general, I'm pretty good at math, but I can't figure this one out (at least, not yet). As a concrete example, I'm going to use the latest Gallup survey: Obama: 49%. Romney: 44%. Margin of error (95% confidence) = 2%. As I've found out, the...

Homework Statement simplify the expression: f(x) = x+1 - x^2/x+2, 1/x^2 -4 Homework Equations leaving the answer as a quadratic polynomial. 1. = 3x^2 + 4x + 4 2. = x^2-4x + 4 3. x^2 -4x - 4 4. 3x^2 +4x - 4 5. x^2 +4x - 4 6. 3x^2 -4x -4 The...

I have a reasonable understanding of Kepler's Equation up to a point. It is written as: M = E - e sin E, where M, E and e are the mean anomaly, eccentric anomaly, and eccentricity, resp. With a few other equations (and a method to solve a transcendental equation), one can use the equation...

Hi, all. This is my first post. Although my question isn't directly physics related, I hope I will be able to get some feedback, as I haven't had much luck finding career advice forums for math & stats. I recently obtained a BSc with a major in Mathematics. This is not an honours or...

I am talking about Greg Jaczko and now Allison Macfarlane. I do not think they are incapable per say, but I question their technical knowledge. Nuclear reactors are highly engineered systems. Jaczko does have a PhD in physics, but it seems to me his dissertation was quite theoretical...

I'm not sure how much background someone reading this may have so I'm going to go over it kinda thoroughly. In a turbocharged engine, when the turbo compresses air into the intake piping, it heats up and becomes less dense. If the air isn't dense, you can't put as much fuel in so you get less...

Hello all, I am a pre-junior mechanical engineering student at Drexel University. I am a non traditional student working on my second bachelors and absolutely love it. I find myself amazed by the fact at my age (33) I have the opportunity to study full time. I will just say for anyone...

Hello everyone, I am interested in views regarding a traditional pension as opposed to a 401k. I am at a crossroads in my life where I can choose to move to a different career with interesting work and higher pay, but where most employers have a 401k retirement plan. My current employer has...

Hi! I am an undergraduate physics student, and I am looking to go into Medical Physics. I am not sure if I want to pursue a clinical career or continue into academia after obtaining my PhD in medical physics. I was wondering if anyone had opinions or experiences with these schools, and how...

Howdy forum, I need some advice on what to do after my physics B.S. Basically this is a what would you do in my shoes question. So these kind of topics usually start with describing one's self (I think). So i'll start there. I'm a physics major transferring into a mid-tier university (UIC)...

Besides engineering, what can I do with a physics degree?

A tilesetter has 6 different stores where he buys tiles each store has 6 different sizes of tiles of these sizes there are 6 different types surfaces of these surfaces there are 6 different types of designs and last there 6 different types of mortor to use since he orders custom tiles how many...

Here is an interesting opinion piece from the WSJ that talks about President Obama's lack of heart when it comes to governance. While I obviously have no love for the man's policies and mindset, I think it brings up a greater question: Do you elect an official to respond to the public's every...

Hi, I've been thinking (a bit late in the course of things) that I have been making bad decisions... Bad decision 1# Choosing Physics for my degree 2# Going for teaching (quit after two months) 3# Currently on course for an MRes leading to a Phd...

Hi, this is probably just going to be a rant , so turn away if you don't care: I'm taking math courses at my university right now, and I've been self studying math for about a year and a bit more now ( in high school, I only took math up to grade 10.. and it was "essentials" math, I was a bad...

Hi all, first post! I have a BSc and recently finished an MSc in physics in the UK. Both were unspecialised and despite being fascinated by lots of fields, I have never settled on one area. At the end of my MSc, my supervisor said I "really suited a PhD" and I was offered a project with a...

Hi everyone, I'm entering my junior year of college in the fall. So far I've really pushed through the mathematics course selection, finishing off the calculus sequence, linear algebra and advanced linear algebra, number theory, differential geometry, computational complexity, and logic. The...

Hi! I am trying to figure out what kind of generator I need for my home. I am the sole owner to the natural gas under my property and I want to run my house on it's own power. What kind of generator do I need for continuous use?

I'm currently a freshman at the University of North Florida pursuing a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. I've yet to start any coursework directly associated with this field so I am speaking from a place of no experience. I just want to plan ahead a bit. When I was in high school I didn't think...

Tough Choices ? I am fairly new to the site. I am 31 years old, unemployed and have a Bachelors in Political Science. Long story how I got here. I had My own business for the last 7 years, which I closed due to the recession. I have never had a job where I have used my Degree. I have been...

I am currently a junior in College, and for awhile now, I have had my heart set on going to graduate school to get a masters and PhD, and eventually become a professor. But lately, I have been thinking that Graduate school in math may be a bit too hard and stressful for me. What are some other...

Does anyone believe that it is possible to make political choices without having a political ideology?

applied physics and cs double major or applied physics/CE minor? according to my advisor, there isn't a whole lot of career choices as Undergrad applied physics major. its either technician, part salesman... or go into grad school... i want to go to grad school in the future but i want to work...

Hi guys, I am a complete physics dunce so go easy on me, I can wrap my mind around the basic concepts but I need help with this particular proble,. What I'm trying to do is figure out how much torque is lost or gained by changing wheels on a car. I assume we need to ignore the front two...

Erm, so, I get that subatomic particles behave differently in different universes because they're random, but do people make different choices in different universes as well? Like, if there are some identical universes and I'm standing there deciding whether or not to eat a muffin, might I...

I've been offered admissions to Concordia University (not very well known) in comp sci with a little funding, and (maybe) admissions to University of Toronto (a lot more renowned) in math with no funding. Both are a master's (which is a pre-requisite for a PhD in almost all Canadian...

I'm finishing my GCSES and now I have chosen my A level options (physics, chemistry, biology and maths) and now I'm wondering what universities I should be looking at, at the moment my main option is London UCL. Has anyone got some suggestions, and what is your opinion about London UCL?

So I want to go into physics at waterloo university, but I'm stuck with deciding whether I should take physics, or mathematical physics. Mathematical physics seems to be the major in which I'll learn all that beautiful theoretical stuff that I've read about in books (ex: the elegant...

Homework Statement see problem 9 attachment Homework Equations see problem 9 attempt attachment The Attempt at a Solution I come up with a solution that is much smaller than any of the choices. I do not know if I am to assume the orbital is circular. I do not know if there is...

Hi, I am an undergrad student, currently studying Electrical Engineering. However I have recently developed an interest in Nuclear Engineering upon reading some nuclear physics material in my Modern Physics class. Does anyone have any insight regarding Nuclear Engineering? I don't dislike...

As much as I don't want to make my story too drawn out for the sake of drama, I feel like I have to give it so whoever has an even better idea of my position. Here we go. As long as I can literally remember I've been obsessed with Paleontology, Geology, Astronomy and well, science. I read every...

Homework Statement Okay, so the problem asks to show that if you have N number of O2 molecules with spin either 1, 0, or -1, the most probable value for either of those is N/3, assuming they don't interact at all and no B field, so basically 3-sided coins. Homework Equations Asked to start...

I sometimes glance at the EE forums, but never find anything ineresting. Maybe it's because I don't understand any of it yet? I love the physics, mainly quantuam forum, which I browse daily, sometimes pulling up 2-3 year old threads, and reading them hours on end, momentarily forgetting...

Hi, I want to get a bachelor's in physics and math, with a master's in engineering... that's the plan, but what I'm really into is high tech audio hardware; monitors, mixers, etc... I'd really like to design this type of technology---does anyone know how I would go about getting to this...

Hello, this is my first post to this forum. Been reading through the career guidance forums the last few days. And now, I'm going to ramble excessively to ultimately ask some simple though not necessarily easily answered questions due to the volatile nature of things in general. Run for...

Alright so I should probably start thinking about what to do in Uni so here are my 3 choices, and i have some questions about them... I like space,physics, aliens, not so much chem, and law -Astrophysics(is it easy to find a job?(not teaching). i know it pays pretty good) -Civil Engineering(I...

I am currently a high school student that has a desire to go into a mathematical and scientific career. I was wondering what future classes would benefit me the most in helping me achieve this goal. Here is a outline of the classes I have taken so far. High School Freshman - Physical Science...

So, I just finished up first FIRST YEAR of undergrad a bit ago, and am at somewhat of a crossroads Basically, I am leaning towards pure math, and was wondering how I could make myself more marketable "just in case". The pure math program is pretty flexible, and I can take a bunch of courses...

could someone help me with this, my ideas are sort of not precise give pros and cons of MIPS relative to these instruction set choices: 1. supporting indexed addressing mode 2. supporting only word-sized access to memory 1. --- dunno, sure if it all were immediate, it would be a mess...

Hello all, I have a question about a problem given in class. Here is the quetion: There are 3 college counselors( A, B, C). The counselors will pick a college for the student. 1. A is correct 80% of the time. 2. B is correct 10% of the time. 3. C choice depends on A and B. If A and...

The school taht you go to get your graduate matters more than the school you go to get your undergrad. I'm going to start my undergraduate at Texas A&M this Fall. It's not a very prestigious college, but it's close to home and I like the campus (I didn't want to go to UT and the campus was one...

I am interested in DSP, for the coming semester, I can only take one signal processing class, and I have two choices that I am not exactly sure what they really are: 1) Statistical Signal Processing: Detection theory and hypothesis testing. Introduction to estimation theory. Properties of...

for the problem: y``+y=secx why can't 0 and e^(-1x) be choices for the basis?

I'm new to these forums, just happened to come across them today. I'm currently in my first semester of college at Cal State University, Fullerton as a physics major (semester's almost over, a few weeks left). I'm really interested in two different areas of physics: the mathematical aspects of...

Do you ever seriously consider substituting someone else's vital experiences for your own, especially with a person who differs significantly from you?

I pose the following Question for Forum Discussion referencing my thread entitled, "Marijuana Use Illegal for the Sick, Gasoline Still OK." Please also refer to my arguments and content discussion in that thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=78309 The crux of my Question is...

I'm aware many of you are finished with or are currently in universities with good physics programs... so for those of you that fit into that category especially, what do you think my chances are of getting into your alma mater or current institution? What institution do you recommend, instead...

Hi! I'm currently a junior in high school, and I was wondering if anyone knew any good colleges for a physics major. I live in MS, but the location of a college is not very important to me. I have an okay ACT score of 31, but it was the first time I took it and I'm hoping to improve on it. I...