Physics Challenge at Cambridge

Following a Gold Award in the national Physics Challenge, I accepted a prestigious invitation to participate in the third annual Senior Physics Challenge at the University of Cambridge. The summer course, which ran at the beginning of July, was attended by 62 other prominent students from all over the UK with similar interests in Physics and Mathematics. The week-long course included detailed lectures surrounding topics such as special relativity, orbital dynamics and shock physics, giving indications of the challenging nature of the programme. The content, taught at an undergraduate level, stretched the students’ abilities, leaving them with a better knowledge of practical Physics as well as revealing the finer aspects of the subject. The course allowed the students to work at the illustrious Cavendish Laboratory, where experiments concerning diffraction and T4 were undertaken. Despite arriving in Cambridge expecting only to encounter Physics, the evenings provided great opportunities to take time out with fellow students for punting along the River Cam. Other evenings included tours of the main attractions in the town, getting prepared for a show on the physics of toys and understanding the physics of gadget applications. Experiencing student life at Fitzwilliam College was an incredible opportunity and was unquestionably the highlight of the challenge, giving a positive taster of how life at university would turn out in the forthcoming years.

Jathu Shasiharan 13LG