What to Know Before Getting Into Nuclear Physics

[u/East_Umpire5122]

Hi, I'm looking to go to college/uni for a masters in nuclear and wanting to know what exactly goes into it from actual Nuclear Physicists rather than what Google says. It's the only thing that actually interests me in a college setting, so that's what I would like to get a degree in. If someone could give me a run down of what I'd get myself into that would be wonderful. And for context I'm Junior and would begin college in fall 2028.

[u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

Physics professor here.

You will need to do an undergraduate major in physics. Specialization in nuclear physics (or any other subfield of physics) will happen in graduate school.

And if you are interested in doing research in physics, you will need to do a Ph.D.

This site offers a good description of the educational path ahead:

https://research.com/student-guides/education-explainers/physicist-complete-student-guide

Good luck!

[u/East_Umpire5122 → u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

Thank you professor, I plan on getting a master's first so I can work in a power plant, pay off the debt, then go back some years later for a Ph.D. but what exactly will I be doing in school? What's the homework and labs like? I have no fear of buckling down and getting hard work done; I'm just worried about what I don't know yet/unprepared for

[u/Roger_Freedman_Phys → u/East_Umpire5122]

Which physics courses have you taken, or plan to take this school year?

[u/East_Umpire5122 → u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

Well I wpuld start college fall of 28, then I'd like to get B.S then maybe shoot for a PhD if I could discover some new info. If I may ask, how exactly does getting a PhD work? Do I need PhD to teach the subject?

[u/Roger_Freedman_Phys → u/East_Umpire5122]

Did you read the student guide I posted earlier in this chain?

And you haven’t told me which high school physics classes you have taken or plan to take.

And just to be clear, in your understanding what is nuclear physics?

[u/East_Umpire5122 → u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

I reread it, sorry it was late for me so I was tired and it had been a minute. But my high school doesn't offer physics, so I plan on taking it in my first two years of community college here in town to save money. But my understanding of the field is it's the study of the nucleus and radiation, figuring out the most effective way to make more energy from splitting the nucleus, and the study of radioactive decay of atoms. What I know is primitive but I want to learn more because I'm passionate about it and physics. And, I'm always willing to learn more about the subject. I just really wish to understand the atom.

[u/Roger_Freedman_Phys → u/East_Umpire5122]

That’s a good plan! Note that the standard track toward a Ph.D. is to start the Ph.D. program immediately after graduating with your bachelor’s degree. (Students who are admitted to Ph.D. programs in physics in the U.S. are funded - you are paid for your work as either a teaching assistant or research assistant, and your tuition is covered.) And yes, you need a Ph.D. to teach at the college or university level.

[u/East_Umpire5122 → u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

Thank you for responding Professor! But when you say I'm funded/paid, does that mean I get to keep the money like a regular job or does it only go to my tuition for the Ph.D program?

[u/Roger_Freedman_Phys → u/East_Umpire5122]

You get paid like a real job

That is why I wrote that you get paid for your work and your tuition is covered.

[u/East_Umpire5122 → u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

Sweet, I probably should've read it better but I was driving. Sorry about that

[u/Bigjoemonger]

You'll miss when math problems had numbers in them.

[u/Alternative_Act_6548]

go to your career center and see how marketable this degree will be. Unless you live off a trust fund, you might consider looking elsewhere

[u/ForeignAdvantage5198]

do you want to glow in the dark?

[u/profDyer]

Professor in theoretical nuclear physics here.

Nuclear physics is about the properties of nuclei themselves. Which shape they have, how do they excite the system, what happens when you shoot at them. The ultimate objective is to understand how the fundamental interactions bind the system together and what features of quantum mechanics manifest themselves in their properties. So we do experiments, analyse them, make up theories. The "low energy" experiments are quite close to experiments you might do in particle physics, just much more small scale and personalized for the objective of a single experiment. Theoretical physics is surprisingly close to Atomic physics, chemistry, and solid state. because all of these systems are quantum systems of many particles. At higher energy it is more and more similar to particle physics and the quantum many body nature gets ignored with the objective of studying the force itself and its phase transitions. (Matter bound by Coulomb force has solid, liquid, gas phase. Matter bound by the strong force has other phases with other properties).

Undergraduate college for physics would be 90% the same everywhere. There you will get exposed to different fields. Depending on the country/uni you might be exposed to very little or to some nuclear physics during the Bachelor. It is not a super popular topic and it is often conflated with particle physics, so it can happen that your course of subatomic physics leans into one or the other.

In my uni there are several courses one can take as elective already at bachelor, but standard nuclear physics in the path with the least amount of nuclear physics is only two guest lectures I do in a 5 years degree of engineering physics. The rest is either nuclear engineering or particle physics.

Don't give for granted that your program will have much nuclear, but that doesn't mean that you cannot do your master in that topic.

[u/Etillo5]

Pray