Can self-teaching physics during summer lead to recognition in the field?

[Nano-Passion]

What to do with my summer??

How do I make my summer purposeful and productive? As of now I am going through a physics book self-teaching myself and going through pretty much every single problem. I am having fun while I am at it. But is there anything else I can do?

One goal that I have is being recognized and gaining a name for myself in the physics field. How can I go upon doing this?

 

[TylerH]

You could take Summer classes.

 

[anonymity]

You could take Summer classes.

This would be ideal.

How old are you (grade?), and what is your math background?

I assume you're in high school. There is a possibility that you could take a intro mechanics course (for college credit) at a community college. I would call them and see if you would be allowed to enroll. Sooner rather than later. The summer session may be starting soon (if it hasnt already), and enrollment may close.

 

[micromass]

Do research?

 

[Angry Citizen]

You could work. Money is good.

 

[espen180]

If you are in High School, reading University level physics is a good idea. It will give you an advantage and prepare you for your future studies. If you have access to a mathematics text, it can be a good idea to skim through that as well. Learning path and surface integration will give your physics comprehension a good boost, and enable you to move away from special case formulas that much faster.

 

[Nano-Passion]

The point is that I would like to make a lot of progression in

1: Standing out and progress in making a name for myself
2: Gaining mastery of physics and math

You could take Summer classes.

I can't take a summer class because there was a couple complications.

This would be ideal.

How old are you (grade?), and what is your math background?

I assume you're in high school. There is a possibility that you could take a intro mechanics course (for college credit) at a community college. I would call them and see if you would be allowed to enroll. Sooner rather than later. The summer session may be starting soon (if it hasnt already), and enrollment may close.

I am 19, just finished my first year at college. The last math class I took was pre-calculus, and I did fantastic on it. I guess you can say that's my math background.

Do research?

Yes I would love that but I don't know any details or where to start. =/ People tell me I need a professor at a university for that. Well I'm in a community college. Any thoughts?

You could work. Money is good.

I do work. =]

If you are in High School, reading University level physics is a good idea. It will give you an advantage and prepare you for your future studies. If you have access to a mathematics text, it can be a good idea to skim through that as well. Learning path and surface integration will give your physics comprehension a good boost, and enable you to move away from special case formulas that much faster.

Path and surface integration.. hmm will do, thanks.

I am in college, I am just going over the physics book and doing pretty much all the problems to challenge myself and gain more knowledge. I took physics in high school senior year but I feel that I didn't gain the mastery of it as I would have liked.

 

[ParticleGrl]

Build something fun that will require learning some skills. Try a van de graaf generator.

If building isn't your thing, try designing and programming an android app or something similar.

 

[TylerH]

You would probably benefit from learning basic Calculus before learning surface and path integration. As for standing out, you'll turn a few heads at a community college if you go into Calculus I already knowing the material.

I found MIT's OCW Calculus was really good at teaching calculus. If you pace yourself at about 1 lesson a day, you could be done with Calc I and II by the end of the summer.

 

[Nano-Passion]

You would probably benefit from learning basic Calculus before learning surface and path integration. As for standing out, you'll turn a few heads at a community college if you go into Calculus I already knowing the material.

I found MIT's OCW Calculus was really good at teaching calculus. If you pace yourself at about 1 lesson a day, you could be done with Calc I and II by the end of the summer.

Are you talking about this: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-022-calculus-fall-2005/#features ?

Because its the only thing I found and if you read the description it says that its for Calc II.

What about khan academy? It has an extensive coverage when it comes to calculus. http://www.khanacademy.org/

Build something fun that will require learning some skills. Try a van de graaf generator.

If building isn't your thing, try designing and programming an android app or something similar.

That sounds like fun! =D I will do it. Though it wouldn't make me stand out or anything, is there anything else I could do to get me noticed?

 

[DaveC426913]

My car needs a wash... So does my deck...

I propose a win-win partnership.

 

[TylerH]

I'll do it, if and only if you let me spray you with a high pressure washing thingy. I was told they take bark off trees...

 

[DaveC426913]

I'll do it, if and only if you let me spray you with a high pressure washing thingy. I was told they take bark off trees...

Got one. They do. Even if those trees are your shins, and that bark is your skin.

 

[Nano-Passion]

I'll do it, if and only if you let me spray you with a high pressure washing thingy. I was told they take bark off trees...

lmaoo

My car needs a wash... So does my deck...

I propose a win-win partnership.

Leave it to Tyler. =D

 

[ParticleGrl]

That sounds like fun! =D I will do it. Though it wouldn't make me stand out or anything, is there anything else I could do to get me noticed?

Why wouldn't it make you stand out? Design an android app people actually want to buy and people may well notice.

Heck, build a cyclotron and people will notice. Probably run you tens of thousands of dollars and a few years of your time, however.

 

[Nano-Passion]

Why wouldn't it make you stand out? Design an android app people actually want to buy and people may well notice.

Heck, build a cyclotron and people will notice. Probably run you tens of thousands of dollars and a few years of your time, however.

I apologize, I was talking about the van de graaf generator.

As for the app, I don't have the programming knowledge in order to do so.=/

However, cyclotron is definitely within my budget and time constraints. /sarcasm

 

[zif.]

Are you talking about this: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-022-calculus-fall-2005/#features ?

Because its the only thing I found and if you read the description it says that its for Calc II.

What about khan academy? It has an extensive coverage when it comes to calculus. http://www.khanacademy.org/

No, this: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-01sc-single-variable-calculus-fall-2010/


Khan academy is fine, but doesn't supply exercises. It's more of a supplement to a student taking a calc class that needs more help.

The OCW gives you readings, lecture videos, assignments with solutions, and tests with solutions. It's meant to be a stand-alone course.

 

[Ryker]

That sounds like fun! =D I will do it. Though it wouldn't make me stand out or anything, is there anything else I could do to get me noticed?

Since you seem to be after glory so much, why not go to LA and try your luck in Hollywood?

 

[Leveret]

As for the app, I don't have the programming knowledge in order to do so.=/

Learning how to program is always useful, and there are a lot of good resources out there to help you teach yourself. You might try looking into Java or Python. If making a name for yourself is what's important, coding might be the best place to start. It will take you years to learn enough math and physics to make a significant contribution to those fields, and constructing something complicated in your backyard might prove expensive; programming, on the other hand, is free, and all you need to come up with something noteworthy is a creativity and persistence. Worst-case scenario, you'll still have learned a skill that will continue to be useful throughout college and when you apply for jobs.

 

[ParticleGrl]

As for the app, I don't have the programming knowledge in order to do so.=/

Thats why its a worthwhile project. Figure out a project you want to do, and start working on it, and when you don't know how to do something, look it up. The internet is full of references.

 

[Nano-Passion]

Since you seem to be after glory so much, why not go to LA and try your luck in Hollywood?

Glory?

Physics is a highly competitive field, a major step of being successful in physics is getting noticed among the physics community.

 

[TylerH]

As a few others have said, learning to program would be a great use of time. There's no reason you'd have to get deep into the theory behind CS, just learning scientific programming in a language meant for it like MATLAB (or Octave).

 

[Nano-Passion]

Learning how to program is always useful, and there are a lot of good resources out there to help you teach yourself. You might try looking into Java or Python. If making a name for yourself is what's important, coding might be the best place to start. It will take you years to learn enough math and physics to make a significant contribution to those fields, and constructing something complicated in your backyard might prove expensive; programming, on the other hand, is free, and all you need to come up with something noteworthy is a creativity and persistence. Worst-case scenario, you'll still have learned a skill that will continue to be useful throughout college and when you apply for jobs.

Thanks, and that is very true... You put me back in perspective, I do need years of math and physics to make a significant contribution, very true.

No, this: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-01sc-single-variable-calculus-fall-2010/


Khan academy is fine, but doesn't supply exercises. It's more of a supplement to a student taking a calc class that needs more help.

The OCW gives you readings, lecture videos, assignments with solutions, and tests with solutions. It's meant to be a stand-alone course.

Thanks a lot! I wonder if they have a good supplement for physics do.

 

[espen180]

They have complete lecture videos, assignments and tests for the first three physics courses; 8.01 Classical Mechanics, 8.02 Electromagnetism and 8.03 Waves & Oscillations.