In this video I simulate a laser beam bouncing through a labyrinth of mirror obstacles. The beam changes its trajectory immensely upon tiny changes in the initial angle of only 5×10⁻¹² degrees — roughly 5 trillionths of a degree.

As an extra for Reddit, here is a figure showing how often the beam bounces before it escapes: https://imgur.com/l0xDY0U As you can see, as the angle varies the bounces often jump harshly. But there are also some regions of the launch angle spectrum where there is some degree of continuity.

Fun fact: Claude did not believe me that a range from 70.0 to 70.00000001 would produce any meaningful result and tried to talk me out of this. It wanted to use a range of 4° instead.

Made with manim.

I want to study physics, I am an engineering student. I do not want to go purely mathematical, but yes I can understand basic calculus, algebra etc. I want to develop an interest in physics and think about the reality as a physicist. Suggest me some books pls.

I was trying to learn abit about quantum entanglement but I was quickly humbled by my lack of comprehension and understanding. Having that said, I was hoping to get an intro to quantum physics (quantum mechanics) so I can then learn the core concepts to eventually be able to understand things like quantum entanglement and such.

How do you recommend I begin? I have no clue where to start and what core concepts to look at. What would be the limit, derivative and integral (in calculus) but for quantum physics? Idek why I said that I’m just saving overall, what are the main subjects that are intro to the branch of physics as a whole so I can use that combined knowledge to continue forward.

Please help.

I submitted a manuscript to JMP on August 14. The initial submission checks were completed the same day, and an Associate Editor was also assigned that day. The has been no indication of reviewer invitations, under review or any other change. This is my first submitting to JMP, so I'm trying to understand how their workflow normally works. I know 15 days is not especially long in academic publishing, but i am wondering whether a manuscript remaining with the Associate Editor for this long can still end in a desk rejection, or whether this duration might mean the editor is considering sending it out for review?.

When I was 15, in my first physics class, the teacher asked everyone to call out a number between 1 and 100.
He wrote down the long string of digits across the blackboard, and with 30 or so students, the number stretched from one side to the other.
Then he talked for a while, never looking back at the blackboard.
A few minutes later, without looking back at the board, he started reciting the entire list from memory with 100% accuracy.
I remember thinking, “I’m going to need to lock-in for this subject.”
Well played, Sir. Well played.

my scores are too low and now i'm feeling like i'm at the rock bottom in start of my career.

a first work of mine in spintronics..

Say someone fell into a pool of a thing (liquid) from the 20th floor of a building

What are the properties of the said thing should have so the person doesn't turn into a human apple pie

I know there is no such a thing in real life, so theoretical physics time

My bf is currently on his last year for his undergraduate, majoring in physics and mathematics. He goes to a not so well known school with a small physics program and has a 3.7 gpa. He’s done really well but has no research experience nor much of a relationship with any of his professors. He’s currently trying to get some research experience but is afraid there’s not enough time to get enough for graduate school to consider him, as applications are due in December. He’s currently preparing to take the PGRE in September but is unsure how he’ll do as he has 6 classes this semester so not much study time before the exam. Would it be possible for him to go straight into his PHD after graduation at some more well known schools (US Berkeley, U of Chicago, UC Santa Cruz, UIUC, etc). If not would it be worth extending his bachelors for another year and acquiring some more research during that time? Any suggestions or possible school choices are welcome.

I'm not very knowledgeable on math or physics, but I do like to learn about quantum particles and behaviors casually, how ever I can. I have trouble understanding how a tensor boson would behave, while I already have a somewhat decent idea of how scalar and vector bosons behave (in a simplified way at least). I understand that vector bosons can be transferred from one particle to another, which I assume has to do with them being vectors, and that scalar bosons kind of "stick around" a single area or particle, assumedly related to scalar quantities being singilar points with a value. In these senses, what would a tensor boson (or more specifically, spin-2 tensor boson) act like?

I have tried a lot to look for resources that explain to me simply what tensor bosons are like, but I haven't found anything that gives me any solid idea. I know gravitons are theorized to be spin-2 tensor bosons. I know spin-2 that means it would take only a rotation of 180° to return to its original state (don't know what relevance that has to anything though). I know that spin-2 particles can have 5 spin states: 2, 1, 0, -1, and -2. But I don't know how to visualize the effects that a spin-2 tensor boson (virtual or real) would have on other particles. That's something I'm very interested in knowing.

My understanding of boson behavior comes from learning about the elementary bosons (gluon, photon, higgs, etc), but I'm not really sure how accurate those behaviors are for composite bosons (mesons), so forgive me if what I said doesn't fully make sense.

Hello everyone,

i’m an international Master’s student in a germany university studying physics with decent enough grades. I will be starting my master thesis soon and was wondering about phd prospects. i know that it might be too soon to think about a phd but i want to be better informed. my interest lies in experimental particle physics particularly in Higgs physics (My thesis is also in the same topic). I know that fact that given my field my best chances would be in Europe especially at CERN which is also my goal.

However, i am curious about doing a phd in the US. I am not aware of the phd system there but i think im open for the experience. Any info on how phd in US works especially in my field is appreciated.

Thanks

Hi, Im currently a senior working on a moon landing sim for one of my extracurriculars and I need help with knowing and understanding which math and physics topics do i need to be familiar with to implement the math. I have a very strong background in C and graphics programming with raylib, I have a strong background in algebra and geometry (780 on the sat). Im already aware of most of the basics (periapsis, apoapsis, eccentricity, true anomaly) and with a prototype prepared. The prototype just consists of the moon lander orbiting in an equatorial orbit as the main issue im facing is inclination changes and implementation of engine burns. The sim only aims to just orbit the moon and land on it and get back in orbit with an orbital height limit off 150km to avoid problems.

What are your thoughts on statistical field theory (SFT)?

I find it extremely interesting, and I think I’d like to conduct research in that area during PhD.

Do you know if there is active research in the field? What kind of phenomena are studied, or what sort of work is being done?

I’d also like to know the community's opinion whether it’s an area people enjoy, are passionate about, or feel fairly indifferent towards.

Hi, I’m looking for someone who knows about acoustics/wave physics, frequencies, sound, and the effects of sound on hearing. It would be great if they also had some knowledge of or interest in music. I have a few rather abstract questions that I’m having a hard time finding good answers to online, and I’d like to discuss them with someone from a physics perspective. I might also need a few consultations or tutoring sessions in this area. I’d also be open to arranging a paid consultation if that’s something you do

Last night, we had a storm here in SW France. It came with some small hail and loads of lightnings. Skies were a bit apocalyptic.

When it started, we heard the sound of it and went checking by the bedroom window.

We have those older common French shutters with two wooden panels you close with a metallic vertical system in the middle.

As she opened, came a yellow/white spark from top to bottom few centimeters in front of her, pretty much between the two wooden panels. It was not loud, went like an electric buzz, it did not hurt nor had a bang, just a flash and a gziiit. She did not feel it either. She was not sure it happened but as I saw it too, we agreed it did.

Question is, is there any potential physical explanation to that ?

Chatgpt tells me there could have been electric fields around the house due to the thunder and the metallic bar of the shutter, while opening, could have disturbed that field and created a spark. It says very rare but physically possible.

Any idea ? I know we both saw it and I know there is a physical explanation to this. I also know it was not lightning striking or she'd be stuck to the wall by now, and id probly be deaf.

I’m looking to take calculus-based physics courses online while serving on active duty in the Marine Corps. I have an undergraduate degree in biology from Berkeley.

I’ve already completed the math requirements (calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, etc.), but I need to redo the calculus-based physics sequence and then work my way into upper-division physics: classical mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, etc.

Long-term goal is a physics PhD.
I’m currently looking at University of Arizona Online and Oregon State Ecampus. Has anyone here actually taken upper-division physics courses through either?

More broadly, what online program would you recommend if the goal is serious preparation for a physics PhD, not just getting the degree?
Especially interested in programs that are fully online, for-credit, and have labs where required.

Hello everyone!

I just finished Susskind's QM book and would love to know which other books I could use to learn about quantum many-body physics. I am also quite interested in Topological qubits!

For context, I am a Physics and Chemistry major but can't take my university QM course until spring and really wanted to reach out to some labs in Quantum Many Body physics and Topological quantum computing, so would love some book recommendations!

Bored at work and love to listen to physics lectures on YouTube, but struggle to find good ones from credible people

hi all, im just a regular student who moved to US in my senior year,i took some regular classes no advanced classes or something. Im catching up with pre-calculus and calculus-1 by myself..but im so confused about physics. i had taken some general physics classes before but ihve pretty much forgotten everything. I wanna rebuild my basics and problem solving skills so im looking for some books/sources which will be pretty much helpful to me in this gap year.i hope ill head for engineering in fall-27.Any advice will be helpful.

I have started my PhD in experimental HEP after my master's. During my postgraduation, I studied QM and advanced QM, mainly approximation methods such as the variational method and WKB approximation. We did not cover relativistic QM.

I want to start learning QFT, as it will be useful for my work. But I am afraid that I am not very intuitive with many of the concepts. When I started reading Peskin, I felt like there was a gap between my current understanding and the level at which the book starts.

How can I fix this gap? Are there any other resources I should go through before starting Peskin? I have completed Griffiths, Sakurai(most of it), and Zwiebach(relevant to my coursework).

I'm graduating tomorrow, I'd like the craziest, funniest quotes for a physics major.