When I was in junior high school, I used to sit in the back of the class, next to my friend Foggy. We were talking all the time, and making some noise, for sure, but were still able to learn what we should. My favorite class was mathematics, no doubt. But this was before I discovered theoretical physics.
In senior high, I had a really good physics teacher. I got very fascinated by the most extreme ends of physics, the smallest and the biggest: Elementary particles and atoms at the smallest scale, stars and galaxies on the biggest scale. All the everyday physics in between, the kind of things we experience and feel in our lives on earth, I found mostly boring.
When I went to the university, it was an easy choice, it had to be physics. I found that astrophysics was kind of boring at the advanced level. Most of the time we were computing equations of state for white dwarfs and neutron stars. However, elementary particles was really cool. So, I was majoring in quantum field theory; this amazing mixture of quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of relativity.
Unfortunately, there are not many jobs in the quantum business. When I graduated, I started to work with the plain everyday stuff; geophysics. Surprisingly, I find it really interesting, because the mathematical methods we use to solve our problems are basically the same in all branches of science.
Supposing that it might lead to some heuristic Web site about physics and cosmology, I cricked the link in your latest twitter message. Then I've arrived here and found this fine essay about yourself!
ReplyDeleteTed or tttabata at twitter
Thanks, Ted.
ReplyDeleteThere are many physics and cosmology web sites around, and plenty of tweets of links (e.g. sc_k and charmqgp and CERN)
I'm mostly tweeting links to my own stuff. I have a few other little physics and math essays almost ready, about the Mandelbrot set, and about Emmy Noether.
So stay tuned, in case you want to read it >:)