Physics Proofs: What to Expect as a Physics Major

[cue928]

As a prospective physics major, I would like to know if physics is as "proof heavy" as math is, outside of the math prerequisites. Thanks!

 

[FredGarvin]

Every procedure for the topics I remember covering in physics was idea...formulation...proof...application. I guess it can't be as proof heavy as math since you have to spend time talking about other things. There are a lot of times I remember where a prof would say something along the lines of "if you want a more rigorous proof..." or "I'll leave it to the student to show this step/assumption is true..."

 

[f95toli]

There is really no such thing as a "proof" in physics.
But of course there are occasions where you'll encounter proofs in physics books, usually in "math heavy" courses where the proofs are really part of the math; a good example would be quantum mechanics where a typical course will include linear algebra not covered in math courses, and then proofs will be used to show you how one results leads to another.

But the short answer to your questions is no, there are very few proofs. And the ones you'll encounter won't be nearly as rigorous as in a math course.