Physics Personal Statement Example 23

From the massive celestial bodies to the tiny subatomic particles, from the Big Bang to the universe now, physics is always about exploring and understanding the behaviour of the universe. This vast world of physics is certainly fascinating but it is the elegance of physics that interests me the most: everything is interconnected with simple equations such as the mass-energy equivalence. After reading The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, my interest has grown even stronger and it has prompted me to think more as well as to ask more. Can string theory be validated? Does a theory of everything exist? I wish to solve these puzzles, not only to satisfy my curiosity, but also to bring benefits to the mankind with the technological advancement brought by such discoveries.

Unlike other aspects of science, physics requires mathematics as the essential, if not fundamental, tool for formulating theories and applications in real-life scenario. Be it classical or modern, the presentation of ideas in physics always involves mathematical operations, especially calculus, for instance Maxwell’s equations are presented in both integral form and differential form. Although I cannot gain further knowledge in mathematics due to the limitation of the syllabus at school, I, driven by my aspiration, am now self-studying Further Mathematics in International Advanced Level and I have read books, such as Schaum's outline of theory and problems of differential equations by Richard Bronson, to boost my mathematical techniques.

In addition to mathematics, I have also dug into different branches of physics. From the lectures of the recent discovery of Higgs boson and gravitational waves in The Chinese University of Hong Kong to the basic mechanics in The Feynman Lectures on Physics I read, physics is always my top choice of reading and learning. Last year I have participated in Physics Enrichment Programme for Gifted Students; through these lectures held in The Hong Kong Baptist University, I have learnt more about the nature of physics. Despite the fact that physics is deemed to be deterministic at a large scale, it is in fact probabilistic at a quantum scale: probabilistic behaviour of particles like quantum tunneling is one of the key concepts in quantum mechanics. Apart from the lectures, I have also been awarded a third honour in the Hong Kong Physics Olympiad 2015, which again demonstrated my comprehension of knowledge and concepts in physics as well as my dedication into learning physics.

To succeed in research, communication skill is also vital. One cannot complete a research by oneself without making any mistakes. It is the debate and discussions between peers that stimulated the development of physics. Without the Bohr–Einstein debates, the progress of formulating quantum theory would be much slower. Having participated in the 48th Joint School Science Exhibition in Hong Kong and the Korea Science Academy Science Fair 2015, these activities enabled me to practice my presentation skills along with communication skills with peers.

Outside of academics, I am a fan of Go and football which trained my strategic skills and how to handle failures. I am also interested in solving Rubik’s cube which gives me the same satisfaction of solving a physics problem. The beauty of music have led me into the world of piano where I learnt only persistence and diligence can account for success in terms of practicing piano and doing research in physics alike.

As mentioned, I wish to take on the path of research to seek the ultimate answers. I believe that the experience at your university, if I am honoured to be accepted, would provide me a precious opportunity to arm myself with the knowledge and tools of physics. After the obtainment of my bachelor degree, I would like to further my study in physics and eventually engage in research for the answers that I long to. Surely, the journey is long and life is short but I am determined to devote in this limitless pursuit of physics in my limited time. I look forward to the destination of this journey.