Personal Statement:Physics 36

Physics Personal Statement

If there is a story written in the stars, then it is the task of the physicist to decode it. Using telescopes or microscopes, physics always answers our questions. However, in doing so it raises many more, showing just how much there is still to be discovered.

In class, learning about the Young's Modulus intrigued me; I loved seeing that you could quantify stiffness. I read on outside the syllabus. Picturing the lattice structure of malleable metals and elastic rubber polymers under stress was exciting, and in chemistry I have learnt how such structures are formed and behave, and how they interact on the molecular scale. It is increasingly clear to me how physics, maths and chemistry link together, and how important it is to build a composite understanding of them all. I picked up AS Further Maths this year with this in mind and hope to maintain a broad scientific base at university.

I consider myself to be an intellectually curious person which is why I enjoy my courses and read beyond them via articles, books and magazines such as BBC Focus. Eager to learn more about the 'big questions', I read Lawrence Krauss' "A Universe From Nothing". I was intrigued to learn about our arrival at a mathematically beautiful flat universe, and its beginnings. I then read "QED" (R. Feynman) which was a further extension of my knowledge of quantum physics from AS Level. I really admire Feynman's ability to use simple analogies to break down a complex situation. I myself have found that explaining what I learn to fellow students is the best way to ensure I truly understand a subject. I hope that one day I can emulate his style.

Keen to experience practical physics, I joined a "CERN Beamline" team devising an experiment to be carried out at CERN (if not quite the LHC). Ours was on interplanetary radiation shielding. I self-studied the particle physics behind our project and the structure of a linear accelerator, and gave a presentation on this to my team members, showing each stage of our experiment and how it worked. We wrote a proposal, from hypothesis to predicted results and methodology. In July 2014, I attended Space School UK: a week of lectures and activities on space science. The lectures on orbital dynamics and astrobiology stimulated a lot of thought in me. The experience of using real satellite data to track a Gamma Ray Burst, deciding what observatory on Earth to use to find the redshift, was honestly inspiring. We visited Airbus Defence & Space where we saw satellites being built and talked to the engineers and physicists there. Just how much these fields cover - quarks to quasars and everything in between - fascinates me. These experiences further affirmed my desire to study physics.

Beyond physics, writing allows me to research topics I find interesting and has made me resourceful and able to express my thoughts in an ordered way. I have been placed second and first in two national writing competitions this year, debating the merits of an NHS, and the role of education in our lives. I have had a short story of mine published and am chief editor for my school magazine. This, as well as my role as a prefect, has taught me to organise, to lead and to persevere. Discovering the power of programming motivated me to teach myself HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I love exploring new cultures; I speak fluent Swedish and have been on exchanges to France and Italy this past year. I am a fan of sci-fi: I grew up with Star Trek and loved "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Outdoors I enjoy hiking and paintball.

As a self-motivated, curious and independent student I look forward to the challenges and opportunities a science degree will bring, and to meeting like-minded, enthusiastic people. Whatever the task, I am a physicist to the bone, and to the subatomic particles within.

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