• Question: Which field of science would you suggest for a budding young physicist?

    Asked by Fe Maiden to Philip on 17 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Philip Ratcliffe

      Philip Ratcliffe answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Well, for a budding young physicist, I’d suggest … … … physicss?
      I suppose you mean what field of physics.
      Now that really isn’t easy and I personally don’t even think it’s useful.
      You see, when I was young particle physics was just taking off and nobody knew yet what it really was abd where it night be going. In the meantime areas of physics have grown up that didn’t exist at all then (e.g. nanotechnology).
      So, it would actually be a mistake to choose a field now – it might be considered totally uninteresting ri finished by the time you got to university.
      Even if you meant what subject, like physics, chemistry, biology, etc. The answer would still essentially be the same. When I was applying for university everyone said don’t do chemistry because a few years earlier that looked like a good subject to do and then there too many!
      Basically, play it by ear and do the things you like abd are good at.

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