A few weeks ago, we had a school trip to the Physics department at Cambridge University. With a slightly under-rated mindset, I wasn’t too excited. But no, it was fantastic! I discovered many new applications of physics and found more interest in the field. It was definitely worth it, but what exactly is it about?
Introduction
“Physics at work” is an event hosted by the Cambridge Physics department to inform about the opportunities and encourage students to choose physics as a Uni subject. It’s a 3 day event however, our school just visited for 1 day.
The event is split into multiple collections and each group goes through their dedicated sessions progressively. There’s a small break in between for refreshments and the rest of the time is mind blowing physics(not literally).
We got around sessions in the 4-5 hour time period and I was impressed throughout. Most of the sessions were hosted by students or teachers at Cambridge. However, for some of the more interesting lessons, guest lecturers/actual professionals came in!
Highlights!
- Medical Mavericks – This was our first session and I was immediately attracted. A couple of Cambridge students introduced how physical equipment is used in the medical field. We got to play around with some equipment so we managed to get pictures of the retina, check if we can grow taller and record our ECG. Isn’t that cool! When in groups, new ideas are constantly spiralling so we had lots of interesting questions and ideas collectively. My excitement grew.
- Lab for Scientific Computing – I didn’t think my favourite part would come so soon, but, a computer science student demoed fluid dynamics using software which incorporated programming with physics. Instantly, this struck me. The animations were wonderful and the minimalist design was attractive.
- Exploring liquid nitrogen(demo) – Some professionals came to demo some “magic” with liquid nitrogen. The National Physical Lab is famous for many establishment in the UK including the fundamental units of measurement. With the boring(relatively) introduction, the demo was just more epic. The lady placed a balloon in some liquid nitrogen and it began to contract and crackle up like a frosted balloon. And when she took it out, it “magically” expanded into its original shape! It was startling.
- Atomic Weapons Establishment – On a different note, a group came in to talk about achievements in space and in weaponry. This session was more about the rate of advancement than the possibilities. By highlighting the possible dangers of physics whilst showing the achievements, there was a balanced debate about the use of physics in weaponry. It had an interesting bite to it…
- Team crocodile – Racing. Perhaps one of the toughest fields, however, heavily physics based. As much as I am fed up with the words, friction, air resistance and acceleration are key to achieving top speeds. This session explored the science behind racing and despite knowing most of the basics, the lecturer described some super speed vehicles and the features that assisted such power.
- MathWorks – We finished our tour with more software and some robotics by MathWorks. Ironically, we finished the tour with a hysterical self balancing robot. We knocked it out almost every time with a gentle push; it was work in progress. What impressed me was that it’s self balancing. The physics and programming involved to teach a robot how to balance is not a simple one liner. Seeing the machine balancing was exciting. Perhaps my project one day! The company has created software that’s used by NASA for space explorations! They mainly incorporate maths and graphing however, with space applications, physics plays a big role…
These were some of my highlights however, there’s a lot more to be discovered.
With just these sessions and a few more, physics attracted me even more. I discovered the possibilities with all the different applications and was amazed by the work that we have already contributed. The trip was highly valuable and relishing. If you get this opportunity, you know the value… Hope you enjoy it!
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