Thread for Physics students here on Nairaland...

For aspirants, undergraduates, graduates and others

I'm a physics student from FUPRE...

Let's talk...

There is arguably a lot of smart people in Nigeria.

With that amount of smartness around, one would think that Nigeria would have a lot of physicists around. Cranking the good old equations of the universe and figuring out stuff.


but no.

All you have are engineers. Engineers everywhere! Physicists are few and far in between, I think, there are not enough physicists in Nigeria. And I think that if you can, you should become a Physicist. Jamb just finished and the change of course forms are out. if you're a jambite, this can be the time to change your mind about your current course. if you are already a graduate, you can go back and change history. here are my reasons why you should be a physicist.

It is suited to the Nigerian ecosystem

engineers are trained to use the existing solutions to scientific problems, to solve problems that occur in production of machines other commercial things. I can argue that engineers are trained for commercial purposes. i.e, they are taught stuff with respect to the assumption that they are going to work in a company, with other engineers. essentially.

Physicists kind of work in the opposite way. They are taught stuff with respect to the assumption that they will be working alone . . . in a dark lab . . .

And that is exactly the kind of Atmosphere Nigeria has. Scientists have a notoriously bad Habit of running away from each other. Physicists are trained to perform top notch when they are Isolated, with other scientists, or through distant communication. Their use of equations help a lot, as with these, you can convey Ideas to the rest of the scientific community by cute things called "Research Papers."

As a Physicist, you will be able to do your work in any kind of situation. You will be able to share your results with anything you want. you can express the solution to the universe in an email. or a forum post. or on a black board. thanks to equations. You wouldn't need to have "meetings" and "conferences" before you innovate.

You can work without physical tools

Physicists are notorious for coming up with genius Ideal s in the most ridiculous of places. Galileo discovered the nature of pendulums in a church, Newton realized his laws of gravity in a farm, Einstein was probably at a desk somewhere being a clerk, Heck, Archimedes discovered his principle of flotation in a bathtub!

the only tools you need as a Physicist is
1. An input
2. your brain
3. An output

Don't believe me? Then You'll believe Leonhard Euler then? who got blind as he got older and still did badass physics, or maybe you'll believe Burkhard Heim. A man who went on to do serious physics work after losing his [b]arms, eyes, and ears!. A more modern Example is Steven hawking. All you need for physics is a deep curiosity about your universe. All you need for engineering is a good idiot's guide to cramming techniques.(I don't hate engineers, honest!)

You can work anywhere.

From the University to the hospital . . . to game companies, to space agencies, to government agencies, to manufacturing companies. to banks(but then, you have to ask yourself what you are doing in a bank.) to even entertainment and art!! and best of all, you can be an entrepreneur. look up Elon musk to see coolness redefined for physicists. and Henry Reich for how art and physics are like bread and butter.

Physics is so versatile because of it's very nature. it is the understanding of the laws of nature. as a physicist, you are like a safari guide through the entire world! you are one of the most educated persons on the planet. you have a deep knowledge of how your universe works.
All these jobs are in the world. they require some guide. they require you. physicists are no longer relegated. they are now everywhere. from Neil degrasse Tyson on radio, Henry Reich and Derek Muller on YouTube, Edwin witten in academia, Michio kaku writing books, and several other physicists out there, as a physicists, you aren't limited to which kinds of Jobs you can do. It's entirely up to you to decide how you are going to use the knowledge you have been granted.

You become open-minded

It's very difficult to come across a physicist that is dogmatic and close minded. that is because physics discourages this. you can't survive as a physicist by holding on to dogma and intuition. within the few first classes you have as a physics undergraduate, your views on the universe will probably be shattered. you will be forced to see the world in a new way. and just as you are doing that, you will be taught an even more annoyingly accurate theory that will shake up your mind. as a physicist, you are always learning, a perpetual student. eventually, you will become addicted to learning that you will naturally become a good listener. Listen up, parents, if your child is the kind of person that won't shut up and keeps interrupting people, ship them off to a physics major. within a few years, they will have had their ego thoroughly beaten down that they will listen to whatever you want to say.

There was a time when you could get stoned or carried off to a mental asylum by your fellow scientists for suggesting revolutions. someone even told max Planck, one of the geniuses behind your phone or laptop, that "Physics is a dead course, All that has been discovered is what can be discovered." he was dead wrong. and as a physicist of today, it kind of sticks into your head that having preconceived notions about things is bad. approach everything with a fresh and open mind. and this makes you a better person.

You stand on the shoulder of Giants

If you ask the random person to name a scientist they knew, the would probably say . . . Einstein. well, guess what? he's a physicist, who else? newton? same thing. Archimedes? same thing. Tesla? physics for LIFE, who again, Darwin? . . . okay fine. 4:1. who else? Galileo? physicist. Hookes, Neumann, Maxwell, Ptolemy, Aristotle, Kepler, Tycho, Gauss, Bernoulli, Pascal, the greatest and most popular scientists we know today are physicists. the only other career that can boast of such power is mathematics. and that's because those popular mathematicians were physicists anyway.

A career in physics gives you bragging rights among your fellow scientists that you studied the same thing they did. The respect is certain. In fact, Haters from other fields call us STEM shitLORDS. even when they are insulting, they acknowledge how we are lords over them.

More Importantly though, a Physics major brings you closer to the greatest minds in history. It allows you to learn from the works of people who devoted their lives to unraveling the world, and you do it in detail.

Prizes, money, Fame!

The J.Robert Oppenheimer Prize is worth 1000 dollars, the Isaac Newton prize and the Maxwell prize are both worth 1000 euros, The Dirac Prize is worth 5000 dollars, the Einstein Prize is worth 10 000 dollars, The Nobel Prize is Wroth a whooping 1.4 million dollars. but it's not really the money that matters to most physicists. it's more of the prestige and satisfaction. The question is, which will you win?

There are thousand out there, some which have never been won by a black before. they are waiting for your grubby hands, guys. waiting.

or you could just have a unit named after you. There are plenty of unnamed units. maybe they will put your name in one. or maybe they'll name you after a quark. in other fields, it's somewhat difficult to name things after people, but in physics, opposite is the case bro, find something, and they'll put your name on it. Hawking radiation and Higgs boson say I'm right.



In short, physics gives you a lot of opportunities, much of which I haven't mentioned here, it's a relatively smooth course(except when it's not smooth), it gives you an aura of brilliance, It takes you to places, it helps you to think independently and inventively and it allows interaction with other scientists, whether they're dead, not yet born, or a million miles away.

*motivated already ...
*winks

Please help physics students out derr unite here...
We are special pple n need special attention ...


Cc: Lalasticlala

Hey,take a chill pill, why the shade on Engineers.

This is the one problem I have with internet reviews Sugarcoating
They sugarcoat everything to the extent that one would think being a physicist equals being a millionaire..
Baba, forget equations...
Owo ni koko..
I'd choose money over knowledge
I'd choose Engineering over physics
If u think getting a B.sc in physics will get u a good job, then you are sleeping on the bicycle,
Applied physics is the way to go...


BTW, m a proud physicist..

op is right
am a physics aspirant
i belive if nigeria economy will restabilize if they takr this one aspect damn serious.
physics bores all other STEM career.

op drp ur email or reach me through lemrex16@gmail.com or 08164328885

ERCROSS:

This is the one problem I have with internet reviews Sugarcoating
They sugarcoat everything to the extent that one would think being a physicist equals being a millionaire..
Baba, forget equations...
Owo ni koko..
I'd choose money over knowledge
I'd choose Engineering over physics
If u think getting a B.sc in physics will get u a good job, then you are sleeping on the bicycle,
Applied physics is the way to go...


BTW, m a proud physicist..

As for me,i'd choose physics over any form of engineering... I just dont buy the idea of the OP taking shots at engineers,there's a purpose for their existence... BTW what school?And level?

rafel0:
op is right
am a physics aspirant
i belive if nigeria economy will restabilize if they takr this one aspect damn serious.
physics bores all other STEM career.

op drp ur email or reach me through lemrex16@gmail.com or 08164328885

nice,what school are you aspiring for.

darkhorizon:
As for me,i'd choose physics over any form of engineering... I just dont buy the idea of the OP taking shots at engineers,there's a purpose for their existence... BTW what school?And level?

200lvl..
One of the yeye Federal Universities we have in Nigeria..

Oluwaxhango:
There is arguably a lot of smart people in Nigeria.

With that amount of smartness around, one would think that Nigeria would have a lot of physicists around. Cranking the good old equations of the universe and figuring out stuff.


but no.

All you have are engineers. Engineers everywhere! Physicists are few and far in between, I think, there are not enough physicists in Nigeria. And I think that if you can, you should become a Physicist. Jamb just finished and the change of course forms are out. if you're a jambite, this can be the time to change your mind about your current course. if you are already a graduate, you can go back and change history. here are my reasons why you should be a physicist.

It is suited to the Nigerian ecosystem

engineers are trained to use the existing solutions to scientific problems, to solve problems that occur in production of machines other commercial things. I can argue that engineers are trained for commercial purposes. i.e, they are taught stuff with respect to the assumption that they are going to work in a company, with other engineers. essentially.

Physicists kind of work in the opposite way. They are taught stuff with respect to the assumption that they will be working alone . . . in a dark lab . . .

And that is exactly the kind of Atmosphere Nigeria has. Scientists have a notoriously bad Habit of running away from each other. Physicists are trained to perform top notch when they are Isolated, with other scientists, or through distant communication. Their use of equations help a lot, as with these, you can convey Ideas to the rest of the scientific community by cute things called "Research Papers."

As a Physicist, you will be able to do your work in any kind of situation. You will be able to share your results with anything you want. you can express the solution to the universe in an email. or a forum post. or on a black board. thanks to equations. You wouldn't need to have "meetings" and "conferences" before you innovate.

You can work without physical tools

Physicists are notorious for coming up with genius Ideal s in the most ridiculous of places. Galileo discovered the nature of pendulums in a church, Newton realized his laws of gravity in a farm, Einstein was probably at a desk somewhere being a clerk, Heck, Archimedes discovered his principle of flotation in a bathtub!

the only tools you need as a Physicist is
1. An input
2. your brain
3. An output

Don't believe me? Then You'll believe Leonhard Euler then? who got blind as he got older and still did badass physics, or maybe you'll believe Burkhard Heim. A man who went on to do serious physics work after losing his [b]arms, eyes, and ears!. A more modern Example is Steven hawking. All you need for physics is a deep curiosity about your universe. All you need for engineering is a good idiot's guide to cramming techniques.(I don't hate engineers, honest!)

You can work anywhere.

From the University to the hospital . . . to game companies, to space agencies, to government agencies, to manufacturing companies. to banks(but then, you have to ask yourself what you are doing in a bank.) to even entertainment and art!! and best of all, you can be an entrepreneur. look up Elon musk to see coolness redefined for physicists. and Henry Reich for how art and physics are like bread and butter.

Physics is so versatile because of it's very nature. it is the understanding of the laws of nature. as a physicist, you are like a safari guide through the entire world! you are one of the most educated persons on the planet. you have a deep knowledge of how your universe works.
All these jobs are in the world. they require some guide. they require you. physicists are no longer relegated. they are now everywhere. from Neil degrasse Tyson on radio, Henry Reich and Derek Muller on YouTube, Edwin witten in academia, Michio kaku writing books, and several other physicists out there, as a physicists, you aren't limited to which kinds of Jobs you can do. It's entirely up to you to decide how you are going to use the knowledge you have been granted.

You become open-minded

It's very difficult to come across a physicist that is dogmatic and close minded. that is because physics discourages this. you can't survive as a physicist by holding on to dogma and intuition. within the few first classes you have as a physics undergraduate, your views on the universe will probably be shattered. you will be forced to see the world in a new way. and just as you are doing that, you will be taught an even more annoyingly accurate theory that will shake up your mind. as a physicist, you are always learning, a perpetual student. eventually, you will become addicted to learning that you will naturally become a good listener. Listen up, parents, if your child is the kind of person that won't shut up and keeps interrupting people, ship them off to a physics major. within a few years, they will have had their ego thoroughly beaten down that they will listen to whatever you want to say.

There was a time when you could get stoned or carried off to a mental asylum by your fellow scientists for suggesting revolutions. someone even told max Planck, one of the geniuses behind your phone or laptop, that "Physics is a dead course, All that has been discovered is what can be discovered." he was dead wrong. and as a physicist of today, it kind of sticks into your head that having preconceived notions about things is bad. approach everything with a fresh and open mind. and this makes you a better person.

You stand on the shoulder of Giants

If you ask the random person to name a scientist they knew, the would probably say . . . Einstein. well, guess what? he's a physicist, who else? newton? same thing. Archimedes? same thing. Tesla? physics for LIFE, who again, Darwin? . . . okay fine. 4:1. who else? Galileo? physicist. Hookes, Neumann, Maxwell, Ptolemy, Aristotle, Kepler, Tycho, Gauss, Bernoulli, Pascal, the greatest and most popular scientists we know today are physicists. the only other career that can boast of such power is mathematics. and that's because those popular mathematicians were physicists anyway.

A career in physics gives you bragging rights among your fellow scientists that you studied the same thing they did. The respect is certain. In fact, Haters from other fields call us STEM shitLORDS. even when they are insulting, they acknowledge how we are lords over them.

More Importantly though, a Physics major brings you closer to the greatest minds in history. It allows you to learn from the works of people who devoted their lives to unraveling the world, and you do it in detail.

Prizes, money, Fame!

The J.Robert Oppenheimer Prize is worth 1000 dollars, the Isaac Newton prize and the Maxwell prize are both worth 1000 euros, The Dirac Prize is worth 5000 dollars, the Einstein Prize is worth 10 000 dollars, The Nobel Prize is Wroth a whooping 1.4 million dollars. but it's not really the money that matters to most physicists. it's more of the prestige and satisfaction. The question is, which will you win?

There are thousand out there, some which have never been won by a black before. they are waiting for your grubby hands, guys. waiting.

or you could just have a unit named after you. There are plenty of unnamed units. maybe they will put your name in one. or maybe they'll name you after a quark. in other fields, it's somewhat difficult to name things after people, but in physics, opposite is the case bro, find something, and they'll put your name on it. Hawking radiation and Higgs boson say I'm right.



In short, physics gives you a lot of opportunities, much of which I haven't mentioned here, it's a relatively smooth course(except when it's not smooth), it gives you an aura of brilliance, It takes you to places, it helps you to think independently and inventively and it allows interaction with other scientists, whether they're dead, not yet born, or a million miles away.

*motivated already ...
*winks

did youwrite this yourself?

ERCROSS:


200lvl..
One of the yeye Federal Universities we have in Nigeria..

cool...
I am also a 300level physics student of Unilorin...

Lol. In nigeria physics is for the engineering rejects. Hahahaha mathematics>engineering >>>> physics

timonski:
Lol. In nigeria physics is for the engineering rejects. Hahahaha
mathematics>engineering >>>> physics

Typical of a misinformed person.
At my school,200 level physics with a population of 114,the so called engineering rejects are less than 10,so what's your point??

i am a mathematics student but interested in PHYSICS.am i invited?

calculator123:
i am a mathematics student but interested in PHYSICS.am i invited?

sure

Please which textbook is best 4 physics undergraduate?

desource13:
Please which textbook is best 4 physics undergraduate?

no specific textbook,but i'd recommend engineering math,university physics,engineering physics,if you are in 100 level or first semester 200 level...from your 2nd semester 200,most of these textbooks become irrelevant,save engineering physics...300 and 400 level is highly practical,and technical,so it depends on the pattern your school approaches teaching you at these levels...and at these levels,you start buying textbooks for each course. For example,for electronics,you get a textbook on electronics,for quantum physics,you get a textbook on quantum physics,and so on. A universal textbook cant help you at these level. By the way,what school?And level?

darkhorizon:
no specific textbook,but i'd recommend engineering math,university physics,engineering physics,if you are in 100 level or first semester 200 level...from your 2nd semester 200,most of these textbooks become irrelevant,save engineering physics...300 and 400 level is highly practical,and technical,so it depends on the pattern your school approaches teaching you at these levels...and at these levels,you start buying textbooks for each course. For example,for electronics,you get a textbook on electronics,for quantum physics,you get a textbook on quantum physics,and so on. A universal textbook cant help you at these level. By the way,what school?And level?

. Funaab 100 level, thanks

I have chose physics as my course of study this year, but I don't have mathematics background, can I do good in the subject pls?

[quote author=FarukuWadata12 post=48077665]I have chose physics as my course of study this year, but I don't have mathematics background, can I do good in the subject pls? U must be really good in maths and furthermaths cos as u go higher physics becomes more harder to comprehend without basic mathematics

FarukuWadata12:
I have chose physics as my course of study this year, but I don't have mathematics background, can I do good in the subject pls?

sincerely speaking,you need to know math. But at your 100 level,just pay extra attention to your math courses,and also your physics & chemistry courses. Because,they are review of your secondary school. You can still catch up in your 100 level,by practicing a lot. The more you practice calculations,the better you get at it. But dont be over-expectant,start small,ask questions a lot,from lecturers,your peers and co. . Cheers.

darkhorizon:
sincerely speaking,you need to know math. But at your 100 level,just pay extra attention to your math courses,and also your physics & chemistry courses. Because,they are review of your secondary school. You can still catch up in your 100 level,by practicing a lot. The more you practice calculations,the better you get at it. But dont be over-expectant,start small,ask questions a lot,from lecturers,your peers and co. . Cheers.

Thank you for your informative explanation... Please can you suggest to me, which part in mathematics I have to give my full concentration, in order to have a good grasp of physics equations.

ui

unibadan......physics

FarukuWadata12:



Thank you for your informative explanation... Please can you suggest to me, which part in mathematics I have to give my full concentration, in order to have a good grasp of physics equations.

integration,fractions,literal equations,surd,trignometry,proportion,factorization,differentiation, algebra and geometry

ERCROSS:

This is the one problem I have with internet reviews Sugarcoating
They sugarcoat everything to the extent that one would think being a physicist equals being a millionaire..
Baba, forget equations...
Owo ni koko..
I'd choose money over knowledge
I'd choose Engineering over physics
If u think getting a B.sc in physics will get u a good job, then you are sleeping on the bicycle,
Applied physics is the way to go...


BTW, m a proud physicist..

One of my friends studying marine science quarreled with me when I tried to imply that job opportunities and platforms are scares for marine scientists in Nigeria. He talked about all the companies and organisations he can work in and even blocked me on WhatsApp. Oga is now into full time photography.

FarukuWadata12:



Thank you for your informative explanation... Please can you suggest to me, which part in mathematics I have to give my full concentration, in order to have a good grasp of physics equations.

Algebra, trigonometry, geometry and calculus. At least at A'level level if you want to enjoy and understand Physics.

New physics student in the hwz.



please any old student dat would help with his/her old textbooks would really make me happy.i rep unijos.





Lastly, what advice do u have for us upcoming physicst.

Oluwaxhango:
There is arguably a lot of smart people in Nigeria.

With that amount of smartness around, one would think that Nigeria would have a lot of physicists around. Cranking the good old equations of the universe and figuring out stuff.


but no.

All you have are engineers. Engineers everywhere! Physicists are few and far in between, I think, there are not enough physicists in Nigeria. And I think that if you can, you should become a Physicist. Jamb just finished and the change of course forms are out. if you're a jambite, this can be the time to change your mind about your current course. if you are already a graduate, you can go back and change history. here are my reasons why you should be a physicist.

It is suited to the Nigerian ecosystem

engineers are trained to use the existing solutions to scientific problems, to solve problems that occur in production of machines other commercial things. I can argue that engineers are trained for commercial purposes. i.e, they are taught stuff with respect to the assumption that they are going to work in a company, with other engineers. essentially.

Physicists kind of work in the opposite way. They are taught stuff with respect to the assumption that they will be working alone . . . in a dark lab . . .

And that is exactly the kind of Atmosphere Nigeria has. Scientists have a notoriously bad Habit of running away from each other. Physicists are trained to perform top notch when they are Isolated, with other scientists, or through distant communication. Their use of equations help a lot, as with these, you can convey Ideas to the rest of the scientific community by cute things called "Research Papers."

As a Physicist, you will be able to do your work in any kind of situation. You will be able to share your results with anything you want. you can express the solution to the universe in an email. or a forum post. or on a black board. thanks to equations. You wouldn't need to have "meetings" and "conferences" before you innovate.

You can work without physical tools

Physicists are notorious for coming up with genius Ideal s in the most ridiculous of places. Galileo discovered the nature of pendulums in a church, Newton realized his laws of gravity in a farm, Einstein was probably at a desk somewhere being a clerk, Heck, Archimedes discovered his principle of flotation in a bathtub!

the only tools you need as a Physicist is
1. An input
2. your brain
3. An output

Don't believe me? Then You'll believe Leonhard Euler then? who got blind as he got older and still did badass physics, or maybe you'll believe Burkhard Heim. A man who went on to do serious physics work after losing his [b]arms, eyes, and ears!. A more modern Example is Steven hawking. All you need for physics is a deep curiosity about your universe. All you need for engineering is a good idiot's guide to cramming techniques.(I don't hate engineers, honest!)

You can work anywhere.

From the University to the hospital . . . to game companies, to space agencies, to government agencies, to manufacturing companies. to banks(but then, you have to ask yourself what you are doing in a bank.) to even entertainment and art!! and best of all, you can be an entrepreneur. look up Elon musk to see coolness redefined for physicists. and Henry Reich for how art and physics are like bread and butter.

Physics is so versatile because of it's very nature. it is the understanding of the laws of nature. as a physicist, you are like a safari guide through the entire world! you are one of the most educated persons on the planet. you have a deep knowledge of how your universe works.
All these jobs are in the world. they require some guide. they require you. physicists are no longer relegated. they are now everywhere. from Neil degrasse Tyson on radio, Henry Reich and Derek Muller on YouTube, Edwin witten in academia, Michio kaku writing books, and several other physicists out there, as a physicists, you aren't limited to which kinds of Jobs you can do. It's entirely up to you to decide how you are going to use the knowledge you have been granted.

You become open-minded

It's very difficult to come across a physicist that is dogmatic and close minded. that is because physics discourages this. you can't survive as a physicist by holding on to dogma and intuition. within the few first classes you have as a physics undergraduate, your views on the universe will probably be shattered. you will be forced to see the world in a new way. and just as you are doing that, you will be taught an even more annoyingly accurate theory that will shake up your mind. as a physicist, you are always learning, a perpetual student. eventually, you will become addicted to learning that you will naturally become a good listener. Listen up, parents, if your child is the kind of person that won't shut up and keeps interrupting people, ship them off to a physics major. within a few years, they will have had their ego thoroughly beaten down that they will listen to whatever you want to say.

There was a time when you could get stoned or carried off to a mental asylum by your fellow scientists for suggesting revolutions. someone even told max Planck, one of the geniuses behind your phone or laptop, that "Physics is a dead course, All that has been discovered is what can be discovered." he was dead wrong. and as a physicist of today, it kind of sticks into your head that having preconceived notions about things is bad. approach everything with a fresh and open mind. and this makes you a better person.

You stand on the shoulder of Giants

If you ask the random person to name a scientist they knew, the would probably say . . . Einstein. well, guess what? he's a physicist, who else? newton? same thing. Archimedes? same thing. Tesla? physics for LIFE, who again, Darwin? . . . okay fine. 4:1. who else? Galileo? physicist. Hookes, Neumann, Maxwell, Ptolemy, Aristotle, Kepler, Tycho, Gauss, Bernoulli, Pascal, the greatest and most popular scientists we know today are physicists. the only other career that can boast of such power is mathematics. and that's because those popular mathematicians were physicists anyway.

A career in physics gives you bragging rights among your fellow scientists that you studied the same thing they did. The respect is certain. In fact, Haters from other fields call us STEM shitLORDS. even when they are insulting, they acknowledge how we are lords over them.

More Importantly though, a Physics major brings you closer to the greatest minds in history. It allows you to learn from the works of people who devoted their lives to unraveling the world, and you do it in detail.

Prizes, money, Fame!

The J.Robert Oppenheimer Prize is worth 1000 dollars, the Isaac Newton prize and the Maxwell prize are both worth 1000 euros, The Dirac Prize is worth 5000 dollars, the Einstein Prize is worth 10 000 dollars, The Nobel Prize is Wroth a whooping 1.4 million dollars. but it's not really the money that matters to most physicists. it's more of the prestige and satisfaction. The question is, which will you win?

There are thousand out there, some which have never been won by a black before. they are waiting for your grubby hands, guys. waiting.

or you could just have a unit named after you. There are plenty of unnamed units. maybe they will put your name in one. or maybe they'll name you after a quark. in other fields, it's somewhat difficult to name things after people, but in physics, opposite is the case bro, find something, and they'll put your name on it. Hawking radiation and Higgs boson say I'm right.



In short, physics gives you a lot of opportunities, much of which I haven't mentioned here, it's a relatively smooth course(except when it's not smooth), it gives you an aura of brilliance, It takes you to places, it helps you to think independently and inventively and it allows interaction with other scientists, whether they're dead, not yet born, or a million miles away.

*motivated already ...
*winks

And about only needing your brain, input and and output as a physicist I know that cutting edge physics uses a lot of complex machinery in carrying out crucial experiments.