Physics Research and Study Opportunities

Thousands of study and academic opportunities in Physics are available internationally. Conferences and summer schools in Physics are organized regularly in the best academic centers of the world. The majority of universities and many foundations also offer BA, MA, and Ph.D. programs in Physics as wells as postdoctoral research grants, awards, and fellowships. Below you will find the updated list of international opportunities available in Physics.

Physics Scholarships

Physics Fellowships

Physics Conferences

Physics relevant accounts on Twitter

What is Physics about?

There is a saying that if you want to live a life full of miracles, do not learn Physics. Otherwise, if you explore Physics, you will dig into the world of laws and rules, which explain almost every technology and phenomenon around you. 

If we view the world as a mechanism, Physics is the instruction on how to use it. Physics is a study about matters and energy and what can happen if those two phenomena interact. Physics mostly studies the forces that can impact matters and produce results applicable in everyday life. The main such forces include gravitation, electricity, light, magnetism, heat, etc. 

Physics is a philosophical, theoretical field and a sphere of practical discoveries at the same time. From one point of view, physics tries to give the answers to abstract questions such as "what is the universe?", "what is a matter of time?" etc. Generally, for many centuries Physics and Natural philosophy were used as interchangeable areas of study, both seeking to understand the laws of nature. From the practical point of view, Physics has tight connections with engineering, communications, biology, electronics, etc. It is the basic physical science, which explores the relationship between material objects on different scales. Physics studies matter, motion, and energy at microscopic distances, everyday human life, and extragalactic scope.

In this regard, there are two main types of Physics: experimental and theoretical. 

Experimental Physics creates artificial conditions close to everyday life situations and studies how physical elements perform. For example, Physicists can generate the temperature near absolute zero to test what will happen with a material's electrical properties. Theoretical Physics develops theories, formulas, and models to formulate the findings of the experiments. From the definitions above, you might guess there should be a close connection between the experimental and theoretical parts of the field to develop proportionally. 

The findings of Physics we use in our life include:

  • GPS devices
  • X-rays
  • Lasers
  • Code Scanners
  • Automobiles
  • Airplanes
  • Microwaves
  • Digital cameras, etc. 

Classical Physics

Classical Physics lies on the findings of the early Physicians like Newton, Maxwell, and others and operates having the early Physics discoveries as the foundation. The major sub-groups of Classical Physics include:

  • Classical Mechanics explores the motion of bodies when many forces influence them, or it focuses on the equilibrium of bodies when all the other forces are balanced. Classical Mechanics largely depend on Sir Isaac Newton's findings.
  • Electromagnetism focuses on the force that emerges from the interaction between the electrically charged elements: Electromagnetic force.
  • Thermodynamics is a form of energy that can be used for a certain amount of mechanical work. It studies how energy can transform into different forms and transfer from one place to another. 

Modern Physics

Modern Physics developed later and mainly relied on Albert Einstein's openings in the field. The main characteristic of Modern Physics is that it actively tries to create alternative sources of energy like solar, geothermal, biomass, wind, hydroelectric, etc. The branches of Modern Physics include:

  • Nuclear Physics: nucleus of the atom
  • Geophysics: the properties of the earth
  • Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics: interaction of matters and light at the atomic level
  • Astronomy: the relationship between stars, planets, and other objects in the universe
  • Astrophysics: physics of star systems and interstellar materials 
  • Engineering Physics: building architectural objects with a solid foundation in Physics knowledge
  • Bio-Physics: studies of biological problems
  • Electronics: studying the motion of electrons
  • Molecular Physics: examining properties and structures of molecules

Physics major

Students get a general-level knowledge of all the Physics branches mentioned above and specialize in separate direction(s) based on their choice of Physics majors. The majority of the Physics studies take place in laboratories, where students transfer theoretical knowledge to practice and have the opportunity to add their discoveries to the existing knowledge base. Upon graduation, students have a quantitative and conceptual understanding of the main directions in Physics, skills for conducting experiments, analyzing and interpreting the experiment results, and utilizing the new knowledge in problem-solving. 

The courses offered during the majority of Physics programs include Analysis, Differential Equations, Electricity and Magnetism, General Physics, Dynamics, Modern Atomic Physics, Optics, Thermodynamics, etc. 

Physics Research Opportunities

Above, you read about the main directions of Physics, which is not the final breakdown of the discipline. There are many other branches and subbranches of Physics, both existing as separate research areas and overlapping with other directions of natural sciences. So, consider Physics as one of the disciplines granting scholars the widest research opportunities. 

Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology researchers are usually involved in observations to discover the structure of the universe and the main stellar objects existing in it. The popular research areas include finding new planets and stars, discovering rare eclipsing, studying the composition of young stellar clusters, etc. 

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics study the interactions between matter and light at the atomic and molecular level. Researchers focus on spin and heat transport, thermalization and condensation of photons, thermodynamics at Fermi gases, etc. 

Condensed Matter Physics, as the name implies, focuses on the studies of condensed matter and predicts the collective properties of many atoms, electrons, and molecules. Yale University researchers for this direction focus on semiconductor microstructures, high-temperature superconductors, etc. 

Nuclear Physics research's first association in your brain is most probably with nuclear weapons, but the research direction includes broader scope. It focuses on the nature of neutrinos and testings of fundamental symmetries. 

Other than the mentioned, you will also meet other research directions in the majority of the educational institutions, including: 

  • Computational Physics
  • Statistical and Thermal Physics
  • Gravitational Physics
  • Quantum Physics
  • Experimental Particle Physics, etc. 

We are granted a world full of genuinely unlimited opportunities and energy. However, society needs time to understand the structure of the surrounding resources better and invent wise ways to extract the most out of the given opportunities. In this regard, Physicists play a crucial role, as they continuously discover the new interaction formats between energy and physical matters, leading to life-changing innovations. We hope this section of ARMACAD will help you become a part of an exciting process.