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Physics Freshers 2006

Reply 60

KuinKra

1

Mr. Pink

do i need a compass (the circle-drawer i mean)

depends on how pretty you want your circles to be.

Reply 61

LennonMcCartney

noctur

i was just wondering whether it'd better if i get a mac or just another pc since from wot i know the uni is based on unix.. will it really matter, the compadibility or am i talkin a lot of crap?

The university network supports most modern standards, so as long as you have any kind of modern operating system, you will be able to connect to the uni network.

The physics dept. has a room full of iMac G5s, which ultimately have a unix core (FreeBSD I think), but using them requires very little unix knowledge, and certainly doesn't require YOU to have a unix/mac computer.

Ultimately the choice is down to yourself. PCs have a wider range of 3rd party software available, but Macs look nicer, and the operating system is sleeker.

Reply 62

LennonMcCartney

KuinKra

I was most definitely under the impression you can swap it. Even if you can't, I'm still doing it. I want to do theoretical physics, and this is the best introduction (along with the advanced QM short option).

It'll suck at exam time, true, but at least there'll be no pracs! Plus, for the first time in my life, I'll know something andrzej doesn't :p:

3 year people aren't eligible for the B4 option, afaik.

I generally find the maths straightforward, I just hate having to remember reams of information (like we will apparently have to do in Atmos & Astro).

In summary: Yay, Physics!

I totally agree with you about maths being easier than the physics.

I was fairly sure that one could replace B1/2/3 with B4, which is exactly what I was planning on doing. CLM sent out an email saying only those ranked 40th or higher could choose to do B4.

The lecture list is out (you know that crappy one which literally just lists lectures) and shows that B4 lectures happen at the Maths Institute. In fact I'll attach a preliminary timetable. This is based on http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/pubs/lectures/physics.pdf.

i have a favour to ask from one of the current physics people. my school was very strange about what maths we learnt, and there are a few topics from the maths worksheet that i simply have never even heard of before. in my freshers pack, its says that some sort of maths modules are available to oxford students to bridge the gap between a-level and oxford. there is an address to get these modules but it asks for a user name+password. i was wondering, that if one of you wouldn't mind, giving me their password so i can access the work, or if i could give a list of modules i need, and perhaps save them for me.
btw the address is www.physics.ox.ac.uk/academic/tutors/default.htm

look, i know its quite alot to ask, and i completely understand if no-one goes for it, but if you do, i guess i'll be in debt to you!

Reply 64

The Strangest Quark

Mr. Pink

i have a favour to ask from one of the current physics people. my school was very strange about what maths we learnt, and there are a few topics from the maths worksheet that i simply have never even heard of before. in my freshers pack, its says that some sort of maths modules are available to oxford students to bridge the gap between a-level and oxford. there is an address to get these modules but it asks for a user name+password. i was wondering, that if one of you wouldn't mind, giving me their password so i can access the work, or if i could give a list of modules i need, and perhaps save them for me.
btw the address is www.physics.ox.ac.uk/academic/tutors/default.htm

look, i know its quite alot to ask, and i completely understand if no-one goes for it, but if you do, i guess i'll be in debt to you!

I don't know anything about the site you mentioned, but I think this is sonething similar

Reply 65

The Strangest Quark

Doesn't look like my link worked quite right. Ah well, copy and paste :redface:

Reply 66

Mr. Pink

1

yeah its exactly what i was looking for as i think i got the same suggested work.

thanks a lot

Reply 67

F1 fanatic

16

Mr. Pink

yeah its exactly what i was looking for as i think i got the same suggested work.

thanks a lot

Yeah, everyone gets the same vacation work, in fact I can almost guarentee its the same set of work that we all got 2 years ago!

Reply 68

Mr. Pink

1

i've looked through the sheet a few times now, and each time it seems easier and easier, of course disregarding the topics i've not heard of e.g. hyperbolic functions. how long did it take you guys to do the sheet?

Reply 69

F1 fanatic

16

Mr. Pink

i've looked through the sheet a few times now, and each time it seems easier and easier, of course disregarding the topics i've not heard of e.g. hyperbolic functions. how long did it take you guys to do the sheet?

I can't remember how long it took me, probably a couple of weeks on and off. I was teaching myself some of the further maths at the time as well though so its possibly not indicative of how long it should take.

Reply 70

The Strangest Quark

Mr. Pink

i've looked through the sheet a few times now, and each time it seems easier and easier, of course disregarding the topics i've not heard of e.g. hyperbolic functions. how long did it take you guys to do the sheet?

I only started last night, and have done the first page. Seemed pretty straightforward, though I'm sure the later ones will get much harder. My main problem has been remembering definitions of things. It's worrying how much of further maths I have forgotten since June, but hopefully it will come back to me.

Reply 71

F1 fanatic

16

The Strangest Quark

I only started last night, and have done the first page. Seemed pretty straightforward, though I'm sure the later ones will get much harder. My main problem has been remembering definitions of things. It's worrying how much of further maths I have forgotten since June, but hopefully it will come back to me.

That's the point of the problems really. Get your brain thinking again after a long break! They are not meant to be especially new or challenging.

Reply 72

LennonMcCartney

I also found that there was material that was outside my syllabus, even though I had done up to P6 and M6 at A-Level (I later found out that some material was in the Further Maths syllabuses for other examination boards).

Reply 73

Hoofbeat

OP

14

Hullllllllllo!!!

Sorry been away for a while (sunning myself in Spain before I have to put up with the rain in Oxford). Seems like Stu, Phil & Masud have been looking after all the questions on here, but I'll just add my few cents:

*Hi Rachael! Yay for another female physicist on here! For the last 2years I've been the only one other than Lucy (also at Wadham) who joined last year!
*Stu...I don't think of myself as a leader, but okies! Think I'm just uber-keen and spend too much on TSR
*Regarding options, in addition to astro and QI being easy topics, Financial Physics is really easy if you go to Johnson's lectures and do a few practise questions (then you learn what topics come up again and again - there's only a few). It always has a really good average mark and pretty much all who do it, do really well. Its also a good topic to do if you're not planning to do research after your degree, as it's pretty useful for a city style job. Another easy short option to do is also Energy Studies - I'm going to do that this year, but not just because it's easy but it's quite useful for Climate Physics which I'm probably going to do in my 4th year.

On a completely different note...any 3rd year's thinking of doing internships next summer and if so where? I still have no idea what I want to do :frown:

Need to get seriously thinking soon!

Reply 74

The Strangest Quark

Hoofbeat

*Hi Rachael! Yay for another female physicist on here! For the last 2years I've been the only one other than Lucy (also at Wadham) who joined last year!

Hi! I knew there wouldn't be many other female physicists, but I didn't think there would be this few :frown:

. Do you know roughly how many there are at Oxford in each year? I don't want to be the only one!

Reply 75

Morbo

17

Lol, Rachael - don't worry. Chloe means how many female physicists there are on TSR! I think slightly over 20% of physicists at Oxford are female! Yes, that really must be made clear. Eek - I can't think how you must have been feeling for the last 20mins!

Reply 76

The Strangest Quark

Worzo

Lol, Rachael - don't worry. Chloe means how many female physicists there are on TSR! I think slightly over 20% of physicists at Oxford are female! Yes, that really must be made clear. Eek - I can't think how you must have been feeling for the last 20mins!

Thank goodness for that! :biggrin:

I've got used to being the only girl in lessons, but another 4 years of it would have been a bit soul-destroying.

Reply 77

Morbo

17

To be honest, it wouldn't have mattered too much if you were the only female physicist in the year. You only really go to lectures and do practicals with your fellow physicists - the majority of your time will actually be spent with people from your college, which is nearly 50:50 gender mix. Of course, if you get on with the physicists from your college, you will spend a lot of time with them!

Reply 78

Hoofbeat

OP

14

Worzo

Lol, Rachael - don't worry. Chloe means how many female physicists there are on TSR! I think slightly over 20% of physicists at Oxford are female! Yes, that really must be made clear. Eek - I can't think how you must have been feeling for the last 20mins!

Hehe, sorry for causing confusion!

I think there's actually more like 30% of female physicists in our year....I think there's a lot of girls in lectures...but then again, maybe it's just more of the girls make it to lectures than the guys :p:

Reply 79

Morbo

17

Well, I got my stat from the PJCC website. I don't think it's anywhere near 1 in 3 are girls in lectures though. Maybe someohe can find admissions stats for Physics? I can't be bothered :smile:

Physics Freshers 2006

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