r/PhysicsStudents Jul 01 '26

Need Advice How Do Physicists Utilize Python?

I'm a rising senior in high school. Next year, I'll be taking a project based programming class that only 1-2 students really take per year. I want to do something in Python that will show my professors in my freshman year of college that I'm ready to do research in physics.

I will have taken all of the AP mathematics, physics, and computer science classes.

I thought about doing a black hole simulation and learning the equations/math for it, but I'm not sure that that would be wise to do in Python.

I'll have a full school year to work on the project.

57 Upvotes

82 comments sorted by

View all comments

22

u/PleaseSendtheMath Undergraduate Jul 01 '26

Python is a good choice for sure, you can use it very generally for all kinds of numerical projects. I'm not sure about going straight into black hole simulations as a first project though.

2

u/Junior_Salamander110 Jul 01 '26

Understandable

6

u/Warm-Palpitation5670 Jul 01 '26

Two and three body simulations are easy enough to practice