Physics EE topic

[donpetro]

Hello,

 

I am really starting to panic about my EE. I wanted to do it in physics, since I was very confident that this is a subject where I can do well in.

However, after struggling to find a topic for three months, I am actually wondering whether I should do it in a different subject instead. Three titles were rejected by my physics teacher before. I am really not a bad student but it frustrates me that all the others found it so quickly. I am the only one doing his EE in physics and as I read in this forum, I understand that it is probably  not the best subject for EE.

My physics teacher said that he recommends a practical EE with data processing. In addition it should have a real world application.

Since the beginning I was thinking about Levitation, for example through the use of supraconducters. However, supraconducters are very hard to get and the whole thing seemed to be too much effort. (My physics teacher said: "We do not expect moonshots.")

 

So I was thinking about a topic like Magnetic Forces between wires, whose current are directed in opposite directions. I could set up an experiment and change variables like the current. However, this follows basic laws, which is why I do not see a real Investigation here. Moreover, I am really stuck and it seems like I cannot have a clear thought about it anymore. Any thoughts are welcome.

 

Thank you in advance

 

 

[Vioh]

Hi,

 

When I first read the title of this thread, I was actually going to write “Think of a topic yourself! Don’t be lazy”. But once I read the whole thing, I realized that this doesn’t really apply to you because you’ve already spent 3 months finding a topic. To be honest, I was in exact same situation as you do right now. After struggling like 3-4 months of not having a proper topic, I almost felt like giving up, and doubted my own ability & knowledge in physics. So don’t worry! You are not alone! Now, I suggest 3 ways of coming up with your own topic:

1. Find a topic that is deeply in your interest by relating the topic with your personal experience with the world around you. For example, if you are interested in computer technology, and frequently have to fix the wifi-signals for the family; why not try to investigate how the wifi-signals are transferred from the modem to your computers? maybe investigate into what materials the signals are absorbed into, and from that come up with your own solution to strengthen the wifi-signals based on your findings, etc…
2. If method 1 doesn’t work, then I would suggest you to look into inspirational physics materials on the internet. Go to different youtube channels, like Sixty Symbols, MinutePhysics, or Veritasium (one of the best ‘public educator’ that I know of), or even talks from Professors like Leonard Susskind, Lawrence Krauss, Brian Greene, Sean Carroll, Michio Kaku, etc…… Here, you can find lots of interesting questions & topics about physics that you can explore.
3. If you found nothing from inspirational websites, then look into this link http://catalog.uwcsea.edu.sg/cataloging/servlet/handleadvancedsearchform.do?action=GO!&siteTypeID=-2&term1=%22Physics+--+Extended+essays%22&term2=&term3=&wordPhrase1=all&wordPhrase2=all&wordPhrase3=all&booleanOperator1=0&booleanOperator2=0&siteID=&includeLibrary=true&dateDescend=true&page=-1&site=100 Here is the list of 313 Physics EE titles (most even have the abstracts for you to download) of past IB students. I don’t say that you should copy the title and use it as your own, but this might give you valuable information on how past students have chosen their topics. The link might occasionally be unavailable to you (due to bad server); if it is, refresh the page, or try to access at a later time

To be honest, I have tried all of these methods above but none really worked for me. In the end, I still had to do my EE on ‘magnetic damping’, which was the topic that I didn’t like. However, this is just me, whose creativity is terribly low. So I definitely think you can do much better.

 

Regarding your intention of doing something with magnetism, I don’t think you should! I think simple experiments with magnetism are slightly overdone, while the more complicated experiments are a bit expensive to do in normal school laboratory. That’s just my personal opinions (especially after my unsuccessful EE in ‘magnetic damping’). Also, the topic that you thought of about the force between the wires is very simple & straight-forward, unless you can extend the topic a bit more.

 

Anyway, best of luck to you! Hope you’ll find a topic soon!

[Vioh]

Also, the topic that you thought of about the force between the wires is very simple & straight-forward, unless you can extend the topic a bit more.

 

Never mind this. i think magnetic force between wires is a pretty interesting topic now. Watch this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3566029675&feature=iv&src_vid=hFAOXdXZ5TM&v=1TKSfAkWWN0. Apparently the magnetic force on wire is not only consistent with classical theory of electromagnetism, but it is also consistent with Einstein's special relativity. The video is pretty amazing, & mind-blowing