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davidbenari
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- What type of experimental work is most fun in condensed matter?
This is going to be controversial and might even be taken down, but I think what I will say is absolutely true, and I'm sorry if it offends people.
I'm applying for the second time to condensed matter PhDs. I was in a group that did a lot of device fabrication as part of their experiments and quite honestly this is hardly a physics PhD; I was doing very tedious routine like steps and then leaving all the interesting physics to the theorists.
My idea is that there are some experiment groups that require more thinking than others, which makes them more fun. It seems like some groups have a huge separation to theory, thus leaving the experimentalists absolutely clueless about what they do (of course they know the really petty details but it's almost as if they're studying something that's not a physics PhD). And then it seems like other groups actually require lots of thinking.
I am asking what type of experimental condensed matter groups you consider the most intellectually satisfying and active? Here is my impression so far:
Anything related to optics, like Ultrafast X ray spectroscopy of solids, will require lots of thinking as you have to know how to set up electronics and optical setups.
ARPES and STM publish papers that seem really sophisticated, so I'm guessing it's intellectually pleasing to do.
Then the absolute worst is transport groups and fabrication groups. All they do is IV plots and spend months fabricating a device which literally anyone can do, even people without a degree.
I'm applying for the second time to condensed matter PhDs. I was in a group that did a lot of device fabrication as part of their experiments and quite honestly this is hardly a physics PhD; I was doing very tedious routine like steps and then leaving all the interesting physics to the theorists.
My idea is that there are some experiment groups that require more thinking than others, which makes them more fun. It seems like some groups have a huge separation to theory, thus leaving the experimentalists absolutely clueless about what they do (of course they know the really petty details but it's almost as if they're studying something that's not a physics PhD). And then it seems like other groups actually require lots of thinking.
I am asking what type of experimental condensed matter groups you consider the most intellectually satisfying and active? Here is my impression so far:
Anything related to optics, like Ultrafast X ray spectroscopy of solids, will require lots of thinking as you have to know how to set up electronics and optical setups.
ARPES and STM publish papers that seem really sophisticated, so I'm guessing it's intellectually pleasing to do.
Then the absolute worst is transport groups and fabrication groups. All they do is IV plots and spend months fabricating a device which literally anyone can do, even people without a degree.
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