Tag: Physics

Courses and career options for B.Sc. hons. (physics) students

B.Sc. hons. is very popular course, so is competition. So gaining extra knowledge becomes crucial for survival. So if you doing B.Sc. hons. in physics, I have sorted out some courses and career options that you can choose.

Courses

MBA in Data Science

MBA in Information Technology

Bachelor of Education (BEd)

PG Diploma in Data Science

PG Diploma in Astronomy

PG Diploma in Nanotechnology

Diploma in Medical Lab Technology

PG Diploma in Community Health Nursing

Certificate in Lab Assistant/Technician

Diploma in Operation Theatre Technology (OTT)

PG Diploma in Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence

MSc in Materials Science and Engineering

M. Sc Vacuum Sciences

M. Sc Acoustics

MSc in Applied Physics

MSc in Physics

M. Sc Applied Electronics

MSc in Atmospheric Science

MSc in Nanotechnology

MSc in Astronomy/Planetary Science/Astrophysics

MSc in Aeronautics

Master in Atomic and Molecular Physics

MSc in Particle/Nuclear Physics

MSc in Geophysics

MSc in Molecular Physics

MSc in Optical Physics

MSc in Medical Physics

MSc in Biophysics

Short term courses

There are numerous diplomas and paramedical courses for Physics graduates to explore varied specializations by pursuing a short-term course. Here are the best diploma and paramedical courses after BSc Physics:

PG Diploma in Data Science

PG Diploma in Astronomy

PG Diploma in Nanotechnology

Diploma in Medical Lab Technology

PG Diploma in Community Health Nursing

Certificate in Lab Assistant/Technician

Diploma in Operation Theatre Technology (OTT) PG Diploma in Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence.

Job opportunities

There are various job roles that B.Sc Physics candidates can opt after the completion of studies. Here is the list of some of the job roles available:

Physicist:

A Physicist is a person who studies and discovers the interaction of matter and energy. They perform experiments and investigate the theories of Physics to reach a conclusion. Usually, a PhD holder in Physics becomes a physicist. However, BSc Physics are also eligible to work as a research assistant or technician in a similar field. For growth and secure job as a physicist, the candidate must go for higher studies in Physics like M.Sc or PhD.

Physics Lecturer:

A candidate with sound knowledge in a physics subject can join an institute or academy as a lecturer. It is a decent job role and candidates can expect a good salary as a lecturer. Further, they can pursue master’s degrees for growth in the career.

Lab Assistant:

Candidates who hold a B.Sc Physics can work as a lab assistant in various firms, clinics or laboratories or institutes. Such professionals handle technical equipment and act as a helping hand for their supervisors.

Subject Matter Expert (SME):

B.Sc Physics graduates can work as a subject matter expert in various organizations. Such candidates are responsible to create content as per the requirement of the client. They are responsible to create effective and format based content as specified.

Researcher:

Candidates who hold a B.Sc physics degree can apply for researcher or scientist posts at top organizations in India like DRDO, BARC, ISRO, NTPC, BHEL etc.

Technician:

Various private organizations hire candidates with B.Sc Physics degree for technical support/Technician jobs. Candidates can look for vacancies and apply for the same.

Radiologist Assistant:

A radiologist is a professional who diagnoses disease and injuries using medical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound. B.Sc physics graduates can also work as radiologists as they have sound knowledge about the rays, devices, emission can assist effectively in handling the devices used for diagnosis and treatment.

Academic Counselor/ Advisor:

B.Sc Physics graduates can join a school/ academic institutes/ colleges as an Academic Counselor/ Advisor. Such candidates can assist students with their queries related to the subject.

Four Ways Quantum Physics Challenges Our Sense of Reality

Imagine opening the weekend paper and looking through the puzzle pages for the Sudoku. You spend your morning working through this logic puzzle, only to realise by the last few squares there’s no consistent way to finish it.

“I must have made a mistake,” you think. So you try again, this time starting from the corner you couldn’t finish and working back the other way. But the same thing happens again. You’re down to the last few squares and find there is no consistent solution.

Working out the basic nature of reality according to quantum mechanics is a little bit like an impossible Sudoku. No matter where we start with quantum theory, we always end up at a conundrum that forces us to rethink the way the world fundamentally works. (This is what makes quantum mechanics so much fun.)

1. Spooky action-at-a-distance

As far as we know, the speed of light (around 3×10^8 metres per second) is the universe’s ultimate speed limit. Albert Einstein famously scoffed at the prospect of physical systems influencing each other faster than a light signal could travel between them.

Back in the 1940s Einstein called this “spooky action-at-a-distance”. When quantum mechanics had earlier appeared to predict such spooky goings-on, he argued the theory must not yet be finished, and some better theory would tell the true story.

2. Loosening our grip on reality

Yes, we can. And many in the quantum physics community think this way, too. But this would be no consolation to Einstein.

Einstein had a long-running debate with his friend Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist, about this very question. Bohr argued we should indeed give up the idea of the stuff of the world being well defined, so we can avoid spooky action-at-a-distance. In Bohr’s view, the world doesn’t have definite properties unless we’re looking at it. When we’re not looking, Bohr thought, the world as we know it isn’t really there.

3. Back to the future

The Bohr-Einstein debate is reasonably familiar fare in the history of quantum mechanics. Less familiar is the foggy corner of this quantum logic puzzle where we can rescue both a well-defined, independent world and no spooky action. But we will need to get weird in other ways.

If doing an experiment to measure a quantum system in the lab could somehow affect what the system was like before the measurement, then Einstein could have his cake and eat it too. This hypothesis is called “retrocausality”, because the effects of doing the experiment would have to travel backwards in time.

4. No view from Olympus

Imagine Zeus perched atop Mount Olympus, surveying the world. Imagine he were able to see everything that has happened, and will happen, everywhere and for all time. Call this the “God’s eye view” of the world. It is natural to think there must be some way the world is, even if it can only be known by an all-seeing God.

Recent research in quantum mechanics suggests a God’s eye view of the world is impossible, even in principle. In certain strange quantum scenarios, different scientists can look carefully at the systems in their labs and make thorough recordings of what they see – but they will disagree about what happened when they come to compare notes. And there might well be no absolute fact of the matter about who’s correct – not even Zeus could know!

So next time you encounter an impossible Sudoku, rest assured you’re in good company. The entire quantum physics community, and perhaps even Zeus himself, knows exactly how you feel.

Science

Science is the systematic study of observations in order to acquire knowledge and forming empirical methods about the physical and biological world. Earlier in pre-scientific times, people were more likely to believe in magical and supernatural explanations for natural phenomena like eclipses, earthquakes, thunderstorms, etc. By contrast, scientifically minded people looked out for reasons to figure out the natural world through testing and observation. But Skeptics often question, why science can’t explain all the natural phenomena happening around the world? But, we need to keep it in mind that science is not magic, it couldn’t solve humanity’s problems but sure is the most powerful method for acquiring knowledge about the observable universe. Some of the essential elements of science are-

  • Systematic observation- Scientists observe, record, and measure the data systematically. Recording the data is necessary so that our memory biases are not able to creep in.
  • Observations lead to hypothesis- Hypothesis and theories are such to be stated that they could be tested. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary pieces of evidence.
  • Democratic- Nowadays science has gone democratic, earlier people were willing to accept the views of their kings, pharaohs, or priests. But itis not so, nowadays it doesn’t matter how reputable one is if their theories do not conform to the data, it is invalid. Earlier scientists like Copernicus, Galileo faced discrimination, because of the autocracy of the priests of the church.
  • Cumulative- Science is cumulative. Today a physics student or chemistry would know more than Newton, Rutherford could ever know, despite being eminent scientists of their time. This is so because we learn from earlier advances, so as to build on them and move farther along the path of knowledge.
  • Relevant- It is related to reality rather than floating in space. 
  • Consistent- Science is consistent. It has consequences, answers relevant questions, and pursues promising leads.

There are many people who have made substantial positive contributions to humanity in modern times. Exempli Gratia, Dr. Edward Jenner, often considered the father of immunology since he was first to conceive of and test vaccines. His pioneering work led directly to the eradication of smallpox. Fritz Haber and Norman Borlaug created The Green revolution by producing hybrid agricultural crops and synthetic fertilizers due to which we are able to meet the needs of seven billion people on people. The starvation caused is due to the political and economic factors rather our collective ability to produce food. Earlier there were fewer cars, telephones, refrigeration or electricity but now tables have just turned. 80% of the population has televisions, 84% have access to electricity all thanks to the scientific community and their inventions. Average life expectancy has substantially increased from 47 years in the 90s to 75+ years in the contemporary world. Even average IQ has also been increased due to better schooling and nutrition. All these advances are going to continue, there would be no saturation in the foreseeable future. In a civilized society democracy is prevalent in every field, be it science or any other. Therefore people should be able to take criticism and not be ignorant and contribute most to the society rather than blindly following rituals that have been there for ages.

It won’t be tangible to talk about all the feats of science in such a short space and time. Science is vast than we could imagine, therefore we should introspect into our lives and look for ways in which we can contribute to it.