- #1
Shing Ernst
- 27
- 1
Should I include my no-result "research experience" into my personal statement for graduate physics school?
My undergrad research experience is basely:
1.) My professor suggested a field - dark matter - to me. (Back then, he was working on mostly Earth science observations, so I did everything almost on my own)
2.) I searched all the paper and information on my own. and read them. (Mostly I did not understand them)
3.) I came up an educated idea: will dark matter form a black hole? given the impressive scale of black hole, we could possibly found some easier way to measure the existence of dark matter, perhaps?
4.) But later with a sanity check, I have found my idea was almost 99% wrong: Considering Newton mechanics, and assuming a cloud of dark matter is a big sphere. Any other dark matter particles will simply do simple harmonic oscillation. The chance for them to meet right at the center to form a black hole is in the teeth of odds; hence practically, you can hardly "observe" dark matter black hole. **
5.) For practical reasons, it was a dead end for me *** then I could just do the sort of studies report (the kind of representation about what I had learned... )** I know there are some assumptions, but for simplicity's sake, I have just typed the very idea.
*** a.) I was taking two major courses at that time b.) I had three months left for my undergrad research c.) I have some health issues.
Should my personal statement include this result-free experience? I mean, sure, I learned something from it... but I don't want the committee under an impression that I am looking for excuses.
Also, since I will be taking a gap year, not sure if I should continue the research, say, at least give it some try with programming?
My undergrad research experience is basely:
1.) My professor suggested a field - dark matter - to me. (Back then, he was working on mostly Earth science observations, so I did everything almost on my own)
2.) I searched all the paper and information on my own. and read them. (Mostly I did not understand them)
3.) I came up an educated idea: will dark matter form a black hole? given the impressive scale of black hole, we could possibly found some easier way to measure the existence of dark matter, perhaps?
4.) But later with a sanity check, I have found my idea was almost 99% wrong: Considering Newton mechanics, and assuming a cloud of dark matter is a big sphere. Any other dark matter particles will simply do simple harmonic oscillation. The chance for them to meet right at the center to form a black hole is in the teeth of odds; hence practically, you can hardly "observe" dark matter black hole. **
5.) For practical reasons, it was a dead end for me *** then I could just do the sort of studies report (the kind of representation about what I had learned... )** I know there are some assumptions, but for simplicity's sake, I have just typed the very idea.
*** a.) I was taking two major courses at that time b.) I had three months left for my undergrad research c.) I have some health issues.
Should my personal statement include this result-free experience? I mean, sure, I learned something from it... but I don't want the committee under an impression that I am looking for excuses.
Also, since I will be taking a gap year, not sure if I should continue the research, say, at least give it some try with programming?
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