Hi all, last week I published my first ever peer reviewed physics paper as lead author on **Nuclear** **Physics B.** I worked with the Egyptian Center for Theoretical Physics and was supervised under Professor Tawfik. I just recently finished highschool but the paper was written before the graduation so my affiliation is my highschool's name along with ECTP. The paper is also on arxiv.org

The paper shows the derivation of the quantized metric tensor in 8D phase space (4D spacetime + 4D momentum space)

Let me know your thoughts

Here is the link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2026.117584

whether that be physics, math, writing or any sort of passion...I am terrible at it. I know you are going to say "just practice" but even with practice I am behind those who are naturally great. I got a 68 on my first attempt in physics and 70s in mathematics. I tried, I really tried. Yet here I am, aimless and unsure of what my passion even truly is. I wish i was someone who was born with a natural talent or ability but I suck at everything I do. How am I supposed to know if I like something such as physics or math when I can hardly understand it?? I used to be a fast learner, I am not anymore, I used to write very well, and cannot anymore. I want to give up because what is the point if I am just going to get every problem wrong. I am super stressed out because I have a calc 1 exam.. it's honestly laughable but I am struggling with the most basic concepts of integrals and derivative apps. I hate everything, I hate myself the most for being so stupid and inadequate. I study, it's not like I don't but I have seen individuals hardly study as much as me and still get better grades. I will never be good at physics or math so it's probably better to settle for a field in which I actually make money despite being miserable.

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So ever since i was little i always used to distract myself with doodling stickfigures then after a while in middle school i found out about html and websites and i felt wow!, im creating something new, but nothing to deep.

Then by the end of middle school i dont remember why but i got really into the idea of going to tech school, i even followed a tutorial on how to make a robotic arm with arduino and showed it off as my final project!, but then when i actually got there i really, really , didnt care about anything, especially the math and chemistry and literally anything actually scientific even the programming was boring to me, and when i ended up back into drawing - but this time with actual art tutorials - i found a spark again!, so since i was failing my high school's first year i just , changed schools to an art one, and .... surprise! i guess i like math and science now! i started learning python and the later years get into calculus and stuff (but really surface level), but after a few years i battled it and held it down to continue drawing.

Now im here with a pretty good set of drawing skills that i would never give up on, but this odd pull i have to constantly do something tech is really bizzare but makes a lot of sense considering my zig zag motion as a kid. Either way factually speaking, i dont know if i could ever be both and be satisfied with the skills, on an objective level, how much will i lose if i were to do both?, so far i've been doing alright with just sticking to art, but that nagging pull is always there, even seeing one technical gizmo it pulls me back in.

tldr: weird pull between being tech/science savy and also a great artist and its constatly conflicting with my day to day life, and i dont know how to exactly handle it? my question is just what do i do with this pull , do i ignore it? or accept it and be a jack of all trades?

Trying not to spill a full glass? Physics can help. 💧

Gregory Wolf, explains how centripetal force keeps the liquid inside the glass during the loop. As the tray swings, it continuously pushes the glass inward, and the glass pushes the water inward, providing the force needed for the water to follow a circular path. Slow down too much, and gravity takes over!

Is Classical Mechanics about determining the future position of a system by studying its motion, or is it about determining the future state of the system. Like for a particle both the goals are equivalent, but when it comes to a system of particles they are not. So what is the ultimate goal of classical mechanics? To determine the state evolution of a physical system or its future motion. The reason for this doubt is that some books claim classical mechanics to be the study of motion bodies acted upon by forces, and some say it is a framework which lays the basis for all of physics, and its job is to figure out the future state of a system.

Hi there, I'm considering doing the BSc in Physics at Open University and wanted to ask if anyone has any experience with this degree. I'm keen to know more about the remote experiments module in year 2 and what that entails.

Also on a side note can I take stand alone modules like pure maths separately after my degree?

Hi there, I'm considering doing the BSc in Physics at Open University and wanted to ask if anyone has any experience with this degree. I'm keen to know more about the remote experiments module in year 2 and what that entails.

Also on a side note can I take stand alone modules like pure maths separately after my degree?

Physics student here! I'm at that point in my education where I know I'm soon going to be applying to billions of internships, jobs and other opportunities. So far, I've been completely unsuccessful in all of the opportunities I've applied for, and I'm looking to improve my applications. Of course, one aspect of that is going out and studying harder and doing more to put in these applications, but I think the way I write itself is currently quite weak. (Grammarly has currently underlined half of the post so far with those annoying yellow lines that don't tell you what's actually wrong!)

Do you have any favourite reference materials for how to write really high-quality applications? For instance, right now I have to write a motivation letter, and can't figure out how to sound less like a starry-eyed wannabe and more like an enthusiastic go-getter. So how did you power up your formal writing? Do you have any resources to look at, and do you have any practical advice for getting better at the less-exciting parts of being a physics student?

Also looking for resources on how to adjust my language the other way: how to explain things in a less hostile or confrontational manner. I feel like I can never get my tone right and always come off weirdly when trying to teach. Any resources or advice on how to control your language and tone and whatnot in this circumstance, and what you should be aiming for?

Context:

• I'm in experimental physics, rising junior, interested in AMO/quantum, don't have any journal publications yet
• I primarily use this CV to 1) apply for academic/research internships, 2) cold email professors or 3) apply for any scholarship opportunities.
• I keep a Master document that I update regularly for future PhD applications (about 3 pages)
• I tailor and shorten the Master doc, depending on the opportunity
• I know for undergrads one-page Resumes are recommended but I do like CVs better and I think there is no problem sharing a CV as long as I actually have enough solid stuff to fill

Also, I know there's a very common academic CV/resume format that everyone seems to use (especially the Google Docs), but I intentionally went with something a bit different because I personally find it cleaner and easier on the eyes. I'm curious whether it still looks professional from an academic perspective or if I should conform more to the standard format.

Feel free to roast it. (still show some encouragement lmao)

Descartes traced the light ray reflected from a uniform rain drop and found a “critical” ray which has a minimal deflection angle of about 138^◦, whose supplementary Θ ≃ 42^◦ is the largest and known nowadays as the “rainbow” angle.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/nucl-th/0612100

Hello physics community! We are working on a high school project applying simple machines, translational motion, and rotational motion to solve a practical waste management problem in steep terrain.

Here is a picture of our design schematic along with my 1st attempt at breaking down the physics concepts involved:

My 1st Attempt / Understanding of the System:

1. Input Conveyor (Inclined Plane + Wheel & Axle): Rotational motion of the internal rollers translates the waste linearly up the ramp.

2. Rotary Feed Brush (Rotational Motion): Spins around its central axle to grab incoming waste and force it horizontally into the crushing area.

3. Compaction Unit (Translational Motion + Fluid Lever): Hydraulic fluid pressure drives a piston in a single linear axis (translational) downward to crush the plastic waste, utilizing mechanical advantage.

My Questions:

- Does the physical interaction between the rotational force of the feed brush and the linear motion of the hydraulic press sound sound from a mechanical physics standpoint?

- Is calling the hydraulic cylinder a "fluid lever" accurate when explaining force multiplication in a high school physics context?

Thank you for helping guide my understanding!

Need advices on what resources (online, textbooks...) for learning physics (intro, pre-honor, honor, AP...) in middle/high school. Thanks a lot.

Hi, I don't use reddit a lot but i wanted to ask this question.

(Rising 10th grader) I got an 11 on the f=ma earlier this year after taking ap physics 1 and doing like 2 weeks of contest preparation, and I am now a little rusty on physics as I haven't done it in a while. I heard good things about HRK (I took Calculus BC) and the two David Morin books, what would you recommend for me to do? Should I go through HRK first? Should I just do the Introduction to Classical Mechanics book? How many hours can i expect to spend completing relevant chapters? What's the best use of my time in the next few months, and what pace should I expect for completing the books? Any advice is appreciated.

I was looking for the works of L&L and only found dead internet archive links... Please tell if anyone knows where I could get all of the books at.

Any help telling me why this is?

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Are there any professors, students, or researchers here currently looking for a motivated student to contribute to an ongoing research project in semiconductor physics, materials science, condensed matter physics, or computational materials science?

I am particularly interested in areas involving semiconductor materials, 2D materials, DFT, first-principles calculations, and Quantum ESPRESSO.

I am looking for an opportunity to learn, contribute, and gain hands-on research experience by working with an existing research group or project. I am willing to learn the necessary tools and methods and can contribute remotely where possible.

If anyone knows of researchers or groups currently looking for students in these areas, I would really appreciate any leads or advice.

Thank you.

Are there problem books for undergrad and grad mechanics, similar to Pathfinder for Olympiads? I'm currently studying Goldstein and Landau-Lifshitz, and I want a book with a strong emphasis on theoretical aspects of mechanics.

im an incoming third year physics major and being a physicist is my dream but the job market is really tough even for PHD physicists. my really close second is aerospace engineering (the space kind). i’m thinking about switching my major to aerospace engineering and possibly doing a masters in aerospace focusing on plasma/electric propulsion or completing my physics degree and doing a masters in aerospace also on propulsion.

on one hand i think it’s better to switch now and save money on potentially not needing a masters and being able to get a job in aerospace right out of college. Instead of doing physics and then having to spend tens of thousands of dollars and time on a masters to reach the same goal. But at the same time I just love knowledge and i came into physics wanting answers to the deepest questions of the universe.

How many of you wish you did engineering instead?

I’m taking physics 3 this summer and I am really struggling with it, I was wondering if there are any good videos like professor Leonard with calculus but with physics 3, for reference my first two weeks have covered electric forces and electric fields, I am currently on magnetic fields. If there’s any place that gives good practice problems too or just any studying advice would also be helpful.

I'm a physics engineeering student, and I spend a lot of my time writing numerical simulations and analyzing data.

Programming in C++ is enjoyable, but most of numerical computing libs in are just unpleasant to use. So I started building my own solution in my free time.

GitHub: https://github.com/mslotwinski-dev/NumC

Some of the things I built into it: - You can write mathematical expressions naturally, like sin(x) * exp(-x), and differentiate or integrate them in a single line thanks to lazy expression trees. - It has a built-in plotting engine, so you can display graphs in a native Win32 window or export them as clean SVGs ready to drop into a LaTeX report.

Of course, the project won't surpass the quality of professional libraries. Its goal is to be convenient and accessible for users whose passions lie more in math, rather than programming.

If you're using C++ for simulations, numerical methods, physics, or data analysis, I'd really appreciate any feedback.

What was written by AI?

Most of the project, its entire idea, design, aesthetics and UX was programmed manually by me. I often used the textbook "Numerical methods in engineering with python" by Kiusaalas. Which doesn't mean that I didn't manage to do everything myself.

AI was used to write all the documentation (I wish I were fluent enough in English that it would take a finite amount of time). It was also used to write parts of simple algorithms that I knew but would be extremely tedious to implement by hand, or to improve the performance of algorithms that could be written better.

I'm aware of the ethical aspects of using AI, so I wanted to be honest and describe which things I did on my own and which I did with the help of LLM. At the same time, bearing in mind that this is a project that can help many people in their scientific work and studies, I hope that the benefits outweigh all the evil that LLMs cause.

Hello, I am an incoming bachelor physics student and I need to buy a laptop for uni mostly for running codes and simulations. Do you guys think Huawei Matebook 14 is a good choice? If not, please let me know your recommendations!

I'm a math major, and even then I only committed to the math degree last semester, during my spring sophomore semester. Now I'm an incoming junior, and I'm thinking about taking some physics courses to supplement my math.

I have four semesters left, and I have been considering the possibility of trying to cram a dual physics degree into the time I have left. Basically, it would be possible but is actually impossible.

It's possible to the extent that I have 8 math courses left to do, and if I were to undertake a physics degree it would require 13 courses(I have a handful of courses out of the way from my days as a engineering student). So, with 4 semesters left, and room for 24 potential 3-cred courses, it's theoretically possible.

However, given the courses I have down, and prerequisite requirements for advanced courses, I'd only be able to take 2 physics courses this coming semester, then basically have to divide 11 physics courses into my last 3 semesters. This seems, and is probably, impossible, not to mention my two math courses per semester I still have to take for my other degree. However, I do find physics really interesting, and doing only math feels dry. You can only do college once, at least in my case that's how it's gonna be. However, in this situation I will basically have to take four intermediate/advanced physics courses and two advanced math courses at once, for at least two semesters ...and that is probably impossible and hell ...but I am still intrigued. The worst part is, I don't even think I want to have a career related to these degrees, I'm just really interested in learning and studying it with the time I have.

To sum this likely incoherent rambling, I'm comfortably working towards a math degree, after abandoning engineering(wasn't interested in the career), but now feel the desire to learn and study physics. However, I have very limited time, and would have to cram an immense course load into my final two years.

Some other possibilities include reducing my math major to a minor, and just focusing on physics, but even so that feels like it hardly lightens the course load. Otherwise I could potentially take a fifth year, but this is impractical for a number of reasons. Of course, I don't have to do a physics degree, after all it's kind of just for 'fun,' I could just do a minor, or even just take a few classes out of intrigue ...but I wanna hear other peoples' input on this dual math and physics degree idea. Is it complete lunacy, or it is something hard but not terribly uncommon?