Computational Physics Courses for Engineering Students

AI Thread Summary
An engineering student transitioning to physics seeks guidance on essential courses for modeling physical phenomena, such as the collapse of a proto-solar disk and planet formation. Recommendations emphasize taking as many physics courses as possible, along with applied computing courses, particularly one focused on differential equations modeling. The importance of self-learning and practical experience in graduate studies is highlighted, with a mention of a PhD holder in computational modeling sharing their experience of learning Fortran independently. Additionally, a student requests help with a physics homework problem involving calculating the force exerted by a rope on a bucket of water, debating whether to use normal force or gravitational force in their calculations.
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Hi All. I'm an engineering student switching over to physics. I was wondering what would be some of the courses that I would have to take if I wanted to get proficient at crudely modeling physical phenomenon...e.g collapse of a proto solar disk...formation of planets, impacts of comets etc...

Here is the list of courses:

http://www.ucalendar.uwaterloo.ca/0809/COURSE/course-PHYS.html" .
 
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Take as many of the Physics courses as you can. As for the others, the applied computing courses are as much a plus. The differential equations modeling course looked interesting.

My PhD is in computational modeling in semiconductors, I took exactly one Fortran course and learned the rest on my own.

If you have the drive, you'll learn what you need to know and if and when you go to grad school, you'll learn by doing, not just coursework.
 
Thanks Dr. Transport :) Yeah I was wondering the same thing. That course is definitely on my to do list. Just a couple more terms :D
 
Hello everyone,

I'm having a doubt with my Physics homework. I need somebody's help!

To find the force exerted by the rope on a bucket of water that is raised from a well I have to find the normal force (m*A upward accelaration of the bucket) and that is the one or I should find the force of gravity (m*G) and substracted from the normal force and that is the force exerted by the rope?

Thankss
 
Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...
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