what does a physicist do?
406616
There are two main divisions, Theoretical and experimental.\nThere are different areas of expertise as well, solild state, low temperature, etc.\nThey may be specialize in Classical Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Physics, Special Relativity or even Quantum Field theory.  That's not counting Astronomy.
829630
physics is present in every aspect of this universe...\nas a nurse u need to measure a lot of human activities like blood pressure,heart rate etc....these r measured with the help of different apparatus....the experiments that u perform now will give u a brief introduction of the different phenomenon that take place.\n   These experiments will further help u to understand the mesurement system n will also help u to find out correct measurements.......\n        keep enjoying the experiments...have fun... :)
775065
It varies a lot by field and by institution. Companies that do research are very concerned with patents and company secrets, as are military contractors and military labs. Many of them are not so much doing science research as doing cutting-edge technolgy research, new devices, using relatively new discoveries to make technology, etc. Even in universities the way people work varies by the personality of the principal investigator. Some are very demanding, others are laid back, some have lots of funding and very profesional-looking facilities, others have a shoestring budget or something in between. In my field, condensed matter physics, the way we pick things to work on is both a combination of testing a theory with a new device design and just trying some reasonably-crazy thing that nobody's done before to see what happens. (in most cases we're pretty sure of what would happen, so it's not worth it, but if we're not sure... we should try it). Heck sometimes we get something totally unexpected and end up having to think up a reasonable explanation. So it's a combination/variant of the formal scientific method in that sometimes we don't have a hypothesis when we start.\n\nFor example, say an old accepted theory predicts some result for most materials, but then someone says, Hey, if you plug in the properties of graphite into the theory, the result is different! So we 1) calculate the result and 2) spend a few months/years trying to do this experiment to make sure the theory is right. If they don't agree, add another six months or more to see what the heck is going on an then publish the anomaly. But in some cases, we have so little idea of how something works that we just try something different to see what happens and see if it illuminates some issue. Academia is also generally pretty friendly. If you walk up to someone and ask questions, they'll generally just tell you, unless they happened to find some secret recipe they spent a year perfecting and they're a little reluctant to just tell you. That's definitely not the case in industry or in the military.
149888
Investigate the various sciences to see which interests you the most.  Visit locations (hospitals, labs, universities) where scientists work.\nRead and study everything you can in the field that interests you, but especially news items and on the web.
848476
Measuring the background radiation.\nCalculations involving half life.\nCalculating the energy of fusion and fission reactions.
982613
Physics is an attempt to describe the physical universe. Physics is involved in all physical phenomena. Ultrasonic scanners release sound waves and monitor the sound waves which are reflected back. They work like SONAR in submarines, or in the squeaking of bats. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation, like light. In either case, if you are using either for an imaging tool, you send the signal and observe how matter (like a baby, or bone) has changed the singal. This information can allow you to make a picture of what your machine "saw."
1135332
It depends on what you want to specialize on: Theory or experimental physics, high energy physics or condensed matter, ... sometimes the smaller schools have one or two very special lecturers which raise the level of of a specific subject way above that of the usual "great" schools mentioned above.
826594
If you're considering this, you probably already have an idea of what area of physics interests you.  Look at the literature and see where this work is being done.  Think about someone in the field you'd like to work with.  At MIT, they won't let go of you until you really understand what's going on, and know how to think about it.  That's of immense value.  I'm biased, but it's true.
605899
Define the question \nGather information and resources \nForm hypothesis \nPerform experiment and collect data \nAnalyze data \nInterpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypotheses \nPublish results
980923
engineering\nteaching physics at a secondary or university level\nresearch
112266
hard question to answer.  What kind of physicist?  Because Stephen Hawking is undoubtably a great and popular theorectical physicist but theres others who have made great contributions like Edward Witten, who in fact has been dubbed by some as "the greatest living physicist."  So there are great physicists each with great contributions... It's all about perspective
325774
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
605361
Medical physics is concerned with the applications of\nphysical energy, concepts, and methods to the diagnosis\nand treatment of human disease. Examples of areas in\nwhich a medical physicist may work include the\napplication of ionizing radiation to medical diagnosis and\ntherapy; bioelectrical investigations of the brain and\nheart; and the medical uses of infrared radiation,\nultrasound, nuclear magnetic resonance, heat, and lasers.\nRadiation therapy is the major field of employment for\nmedical physicists.\n Job Settings are in Hospitals and other medical care facilities. A median salary for medical physicists\nis about $72,500 per year.\n\nApplied physics mostly works with applied research and development rather than in basic research.\n\nand I didnt really find anything about simulation physics. Ask your professors or each advisors for some information. But maybe they work on the radiation machines treating cancer. Good luck. Hope this helped.
239910
If you like physics, but do not want a degree in physics, you should consider engineering.  Physics and math are the two core foundations of most engineering disciplines.
419016
Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta to relate that movie to it, well, it could be used as a inside joke, if you touch my back , well you in heat, if you get my point.
939758
Physics is involved in all types of diagnostic imaging: xrays, MRI, CT scans, PET. Look them up and do your own homework.
972446
you need the basics of physics.