18.07.2021//

Radio Astronomy

So I learnt something really cool today. Radio astronomy. Radio astronomy is done at ~ 1.4 GHz frequency. WHY YOU ASK??? Because hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe!!! And hydrogen atoms have one electron !! Electrons possess spins!! Spins can flip!! And when they do, they emit a wavelength of 21 cm!! Which corresponds to a frequency of 1.4 GHz (f = c/λ). And since hydrogen is basically EVERYWHERE, they use that to observe celestial bodies and it is a very protected frequency which means radio stations, satellites and cellphone towers can't use it!!

First year physics undergrad recap

I started studying physics one year ago and my blog still lacks activity - thus it’s time to do a recap of my experiences and give you, the new freshmen, some hints!

To be honest despair was my constant companion during the first semester. In the beginning confusion is ominpresent because you have to learn an immense amount of new mathematical stuff you have never imagined before. But as time is passing you get used to it and you start understanding the connections between the topics. The most important advice is to keep going, no matter how frustrated you might be.

In my case I did earnestly not believe to pass any exams for the first months of uni. Each single day showed me how much I did not understand. In retrospect I realize that this feeling is absolutely normal - your endurance is being tested. Gladly I did never resign and kept on learning. As a result free time was not really existent during these months. But this proved to be worthwile - I passed all exams and with some luck I finished the first semester even with good grades. 

At LMU Munich you have three lectures in the first semester: E1 (experimental physics - classical mechanics), M1 (mathematics for physisicsts - calculus) and T0 (mathematical methods for theoretical physics). At least E1 sometimes resembles the physics you are used to. There the math is not as heavy as the stuff you need to use later. But you learn all of this heavy math in T0 - the most challenging lecture as I experienced it. And well yeah - calculus was just a bunch of confusion for me. To prove Lemmas, Propositions etc. in correct mathematical language was something absolutely new. To calculate and to prove are completely different things - but you can get used to it, even if it takes a lot of time! Practice makes perfect.

Luckily the second semester was way better than the first. I proved to myself that I can make this and got a higher frustration tolerance. I believe that most of the students feel this way. The lectures then were E2 (experimental physics - thermodynamics and electrodynamics), T1 (theoretical physics - classical mechanics) and M2 (mathematics for physicists - linear algebra). Though it is still damn difficult, your fundament of knowledge you earned during the first semester helps you everyday. Still you won’t be safe from failing exams - I did not pass linear algebra this semester. About 80% didn’t. But I have a lot of hope for the retry exam - It’s okay to fail sometimes. [Edit: I actually passed it, yay!]

Now let’s give you some tips for your first months as a freshman!

Go to each lecture and tutorial

The moment you start not going to lectures is a dangerous step. In some cases (if the professor gives an absolutely terrible lecture) it might make sense. But not going to uni because of despair and resignation is the worst thing you can do. Once you started this it becomes a vicious circle. It’s way more difficult to learn absolutely everything by yourself. It’s really helpful to get a better start into new topics with attending lectures. Otherwise it gets more difficult than it is anyway and you lose motivation more and more.

Get used to work by yourself

Try to get a balance between discussing with others and solving problems on your own. Both extremes do not ensure effective learning. You need to ponder by yourself. But when you’re struck for hours, you should get help - discussing is important, even if you do not get the right results.  

Do not let bad habits overwhelm you

Going to uni everyday for often more than eight hours can lead to very unhealthy habits, such as not eating the whole day, not making real breaks because you’re under pressure, smoking a lot, etc. At least these had been my problems. Maybe I have the tendency for bad habits anyway :D I think it’s still important to say: Don’t forget to eat, drink and take breaks - otherwise your brain won’t work properly.

Get enough sleep

Really - get enough sleep. Plan in your daily routine when you’re going to bed. Sometimes it is in fact not possible to sleep enough. As long as this is the exception, everything is fine. It should simply not be the rule. At the latest when you’re constantly falling asleep during lectures you should rethink your sleeping habits.

Do something that gives you compensation

You need to get your head free. Often you think about a physics problem for hours and stay struck, even after discussing with your mates. Get a hobby or better to say, don’t stop the hobbies you’ve been doing before. Sports, drawing,… anything - but do something which is not physics.

Remember that it is possible to pass the exams

Although it might be difficult to believe in the beginning, it is really possible to pass. As long as your work hard enough. The exercise sheets are most of the time much harder than the exams. Get additional exercises from books etc. and you can properly learn for them. (Honest edit: Sometimes the exams seem actually impossible to pass. e.g. my linear algebra exam that 80% failed, but even then: you’re at least not alone).

Don’t compare yourself with others

Simply don’t start thinking that all the others are better than you. There are always these genius guys who seem to have less problems with the sheets and lectures. But these are no ordinary people and not the average student. It’s okay to belong to the struggling “mainstream”.

Don’t give up

Already after a few weeks you are going to see that there are many more free seats in the auditorium, because many guys give up.  You need tenacious adherence to the idea that you do not belong to them because of the following:

Most important: Don’t forget why you are doing this!

All my points make physics look like some masochistic burden, but it is not. You are doing all of this in order to understand the world a bit better and get to the borders of human knowledge. It takes a lot of time and costs a lot - but it is worth it. I never regretted doing physics even in my most frustrated moments. I earnestly believe it’s the best you can study - your mind gets more analytically, you think outside the box and you see the fundaments of nature - even it is only a glance.

Words to describe facial expressions

Absent: preoccupied 

Agonized: as if in pain or tormented

Alluring: attractive, in the sense of arousing desire

Appealing: attractive, in the sense of encouraging goodwill and/or interest

Beatific: blissful

Black: angry or sad, or hostile

Bleak: hopeless

Blinking: surprise, or lack of concern

Blithe: carefree, lighthearted, or heedlessly indifferent

Brooding: anxious and gloomy

Bug eyed: frightened or surprised

Chagrined: humiliated or disappointed

Cheeky: cocky, insolent

Cheerless: sad

Choleric: hot-tempered, irate

Darkly: with depressed or malevolent feelings

Deadpan: expressionless, to conceal emotion or heighten humor

Despondent: depressed or discouraged

Doleful: sad or afflicted

Dour: stern or obstinate

Dreamy: distracted by daydreaming or fantasizing

Ecstatic: delighted or entranced

Faint: cowardly, weak, or barely perceptible

Fixed: concentrated or immobile

Gazing: staring intently

Glancing: staring briefly as if curious but evasive

Glazed: expressionless due to fatigue or confusion

Grim: fatalistic or pessimistic

Grave: serious, expressing emotion due to loss or sadness

Haunted: frightened, worried, or guilty

Hopeless: depressed by a lack of encouragement or optimism

Hostile: aggressively angry, intimidating, or resistant

Hunted: tense as if worried about pursuit

Jeering: insulting or mocking

Languid: lazy or weak

Leering: sexually suggestive

Mild: easygoing

Mischievous: annoyingly or maliciously playful

Pained: affected with discomfort or pain

Peering: with curiosity or suspicion

Peeved: annoyed

Pleading: seeking apology or assistance

Quizzical: questioning or confused

Radiant: bright, happy

Sanguine: bloodthirsty, confident

Sardonic: mocking

Sour: unpleasant

Sullen: resentful

Vacant: blank or stupid looking

Wan: pale, sickly

Wary: cautious or cunning

Wide eyed: frightened or surprised

Withering: devastating

Wrathful: indignant or vengeful

Wry: twisted or crooked to express cleverness or a dark or ironic feeling

What is my colour?

@chibabyyy thankyou 😁👉🏻👈🏻❤

I tag everyone who sees this 👀.

Here you go....

ktestone.com

Personal color test

What is my perosnal color?

05/01/22

100 days of productivity: 5/100

i had my jab yesterday which gave me a massive headache and i’m hoping it goes away soon :(

finally finished my physics assignments today!! my physics lecture also is about to start but idk how well i can focus and am severely lacking motivation ://

also went on a walk and it was freezing and the forecast says we might be getting some snow ❄️

📍place of the day: 727 Fifth Avenue, New York City

12/02/22

100 days of productivity: 43/100

more notes!!

hi friends! february has felt like three years and i am glad to see it end. this month was tough for so many different reasons but I'm trying to stay positive. i'm still incredibly intimidated and scared by my course load but I've started properly studying now and feel confident in my ability to at least try. next saturday i'm having lunch with an old friend from secondary school and i'm grateful i have that to look forward to 😊

i hope you're all doing well!

February Productivity Challenge

Day 24: What's your favourite beverage?

Iced coffee made right

Day 25: What does your ideal breakfast look like?

Okay i have two answers for this:

- A smoothie bowl

- Crepes with a tiny amount of syrup, bananas and tea

Day 26: What's the cosiest place in your mind right now?

my bed at like 2 am with the lights off and the window open, covered in blankets with music playing on low (everybody else in the house is asleep)

I made these for my Instagram page last year, and I'm just reposting these notes here. They are on the integral form of Gauss' law, the first of Maxwell's equations. I guess this would have been better explained in a video but oh well.

Hurrah! Done with this! The best book I've ever come across ❤

Thankyou :-)

'No-one gets ink stains like yours out of a desire for money.'

Jo March, a protagonist of Louisa May Alcott's novel 'Little Women'

Ambition can dig like a needle; mostly, you have to pull a dream forward, but sometimes it pushes you. And it prods and bites and stings when things seem hopeless; when you have aspirations, the thought of them wilting wounds you like nothing else.

Life can seem like a series of wounds.

Much like ambition, the longing for love both pulls and pushes— but in which direction, who can say? The bright winds of freedom seem harsh without a hand to hold; and yet, the brightness of Summer love smothers without them.

for @hallucinating-antonym

send me a ☀️ if you want a poem about a protagonist or antagonist that your blog reminds me of