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  1. Naked Science Forum
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  3. Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology
  4. Whats a branch of physics with high potential that has unjustified disinterest
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Whats a branch of physics with high potential that has unjustified disinterest

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Offline grillmeister (OP)

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Whats a branch of physics with high potential that has unjustified disinterest
« on: 10/01/2022 20:07:05 »
I want to know what branch of physics i should proceed into, i want to work in something that has really high potential but for some reason isnt as focused on as much as other branches. ie : quantum physics when it was unexplored, could help if someone here could give me their thoughts.
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Offline evan_au

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Re: Whats a branch of physics with high potential that has unjustified disinterest
« Reply #1 on: 10/01/2022 21:28:14 »
Making graphene using sticky tape: High potential, not much focus (until the work which won it a Nobel Prize).

How about you enroll in Physics at university level...
- Do a Masters (and pick an interesting project, with an interesting supervisor)
- Do a PhD (and pick a really interesting project, with a really good supervisor)
- Then you can pick a research field that has high potential, and not much focus at the time
- Or go into industry, where business drivers will provide direction to your work

It is said that the quantity of knowledge in the world is doubling about every year
- That means any advice we could give before starting a degree will be well and truly obsolete by the time you get a PhD
- So, if you are interested in Physics, set out in that direction, and see where it takes you

Note: Don't confuse Quantity of Knowledge with Quality of Knowledge!

See: https://www.cio.com/article/219940/thriving-in-a-world-of-knowledge-half-life.html
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Marked as best answer by grillmeister on 11/01/2022 18:59:26

Offline chiralSPO

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Re: Whats a branch of physics with high potential that has unjustified disinterest
« Reply #2 on: 10/01/2022 22:11:01 »
I may be biased (as a chemist), but I would recommend physical chemistry. It has all the mathematical rigor and knowledge of "standard" physics, but it's also much more easily explored experimentally than high energy physics, astrophysics, cosmology etc.

Physical chemistry (or chemical physics, or materials science, depending on what you're looking at) involves a lot of quantum mechanics (because it largely deals with collections of photons, electrons, atomic nuclei, and how they interact with each other). It also involves relativity, when considering very heavy atoms (like gold or uranium), in which electrons that get close to the nucleus have enough kinetic energy that reletivistic considerations must be taken.

Bridging the gap between physics and chemistry means that it is very useful, and often overlooked by purist physicists and chemists alike. But physical chemistry is critically important for "sexy" topics like (among other things):
• quantum computing (and regular computing)
• LEDs (and OLEDs)
• Photovoltaics
• Drug design
• Protein folding
• Sensing
• Spectroscopy
• Making new dyes (for aesthetics, cellular imaging, light emission, light harvesting)

« Last Edit: 10/01/2022 22:16:28 by chiralSPO »
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Offline alancalverd

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Re: Whats a branch of physics with high potential that has unjustified disinterest
« Reply #3 on: 11/01/2022 05:24:13 »
Atmospheric physics. That is, real physics, not modelling and curve fitting.

School textbooks and teaching. Lots of people do it, very few do it well. Massive potential to alter the perceptions and behavior of everyone.
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