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OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
I was eager to understand how the Universe works “
Where did your interest begin in the subject? Were you interested in the concept of Physics or a certain part of the subject? Like many others, I became interested in Physics shortly after discovering about quantum mechanics, as it was a strange form of Physics which fuelled my curiosity for the subject, and I was eager to understand how the Universe works. How have you found the A-level course? I think the Physics A-level course has a lot to recommend it, rewarding those interested in the engineering side by including lots of marked experiments that test the practical skills of students, while also providing topics that give a glimpse of the Physics studied in university, such as the double slit experiment, standing waves and lasers. A-level Physics is very different to GCSE: it does not give approximated or vague explanations for phenomena and has fewer questions that rely on memorisation. It rewards students who make connections between each topic. Do you find it complicated to understand? Some topics may be difficult to understand when introduced for the first time, but once your teacher gives you a simpler derivation or explanation about how physicists first approached the problems then it is a lot easier. Even though Physics A level is possible without Maths A level, I highly recommend studying both, to understand where some derivations come from. There are many topics to work on in the professional field of Physics. What interests you the most and what will you focus on during and after university? Currently, I would love to study particle physics and theoretical physics as I have read many books on these two areas of Physics, and both are developing fields. However, during my degree course, I will probably gain a large interest in some sub-speciality in Physics such as quantum. I am still uncertain about my post- university career if I don’t choose to go into research. What problem do you think is most important for the new generation of physicists to work on? There are several problems that are important to the coming generation: the solution to harnessing nuclear fusion and providing the Earth with completely clean and cheap energy, or the current race to create the first quantum computer that can be used commercially. There is even the problem within condensed matter physics of trying to understand what happened at the
exact moment of the Big Bang or what was before it. In cosmology there is the problem of dark matter and dark energy and trying to find the cause for the acceleration of the expansion of our Universe. Each speciality of Physics has its own major problem, some of which may be prioritised now, rather than in the future. Do you have a favourite scientist who has personally inspired you? If not, who do you think was most important to the subject over its history? The scientist who has inspired me the most is a physicist called Carlo Rovelli. He has written several books about quantum mechanics and quantum gravity in which he elegantly provides context and history about discoveries in Physics to help build the reader’s understanding before proceeding into complex topics. He is responsible for my interest in quantum gravity and has given me the drive to keep studying the subject. I believe that the most important person to Physics must have been Isaac Newton. His contributions in calculus and his laws of gravitation were highly impactful in developing classical mechanics. Even though Albert Einstein may have produced many important discoveries in such a short space of time, Isaac Newton was responsible, even after his death, for the foundations that Einstein built upon. This is primarily because Physics develops theories that always build upon previous theories that have been tested and proven. Do you think religion has a place in science, bearing in mind that many scientists have denied God, or accepted him, in the case of Darwin, Lavoisier, Faraday or even Maxwell? Religion has a place in science. It was only due to the backing of the Church that scientific investigation could be performed by Copernicus, who developed heliocentric cosmology. Many scientists are religious. There is no conflict between religion and science other than misunderstandings. People are just trying to understand why the Universe exists the way it is, while science explains how and what occurs within the Universe. Those that deny God do so from their personal beliefs, not because it is a shared belief in science.
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