• Question: Are there any parts of Physics that you find particularly difficult?

    Asked by mattb to Adam, Geoff, Rob, Sheila, Suzie on 23 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Adam Tuff

      Adam Tuff answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      I hate magnetics – I don’t have a clue how magnets work (and it may also be that my exam results in magnetics were rubbish too!) .The nice thing is you don’t have to be amazing at everything in science to be a scientist – this is why we work with other scientists so we can help each other – afterall, we’re only human (well, I suspect one guy in my department may be an alien…but that’s another story!)

    • Photo: Suzie Sheehy

      Suzie Sheehy answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi there, good question thanks!!

      I find some of the really heavily mathematical bits of physics quite difficult – but I think everyone probably does. I struggled a bit with the intricate details of atomic physics (calculating atomic spectra) and wasn’t a great fan of statistical mechanics… but I think its good to challenge yourself and learn things even if you think they are hard!

      One of the reasons I continued studying physics after I finished school (at uni) was because I’d found parts of it challenging and I wanted to really understand how the world worked. I guess that challenging myself has been a major driving force in my career!

    • Photo: Sheila Kanani

      Sheila Kanani answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      Most of it, especially the maths 🙂

    • Photo: Robert Simpson

      Robert Simpson answered on 23 Mar 2011:

      Oh lord yes, lots. I have terrible trouble with the equations behind general relativity and I don’t think anyone is comfortable with quantum mechanics really – certainly not me.

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