Is it wise to get a phD in physics?
I have been a physics prof (specialty in astrophysics) for almost 30 years, so think I have some experience with these issues, and believe I am still able to recall my own graduate experiences sometime before the glaciers melted. First, I have to think the author of the articles you are referencing were engaging in a bit of hyperbole, or at least some tongue-in-cheekness. A graduate student's life does take on some of the flavor of serfdom (especially depending on your advising professor, I had both really great and really awful advisors) and as far as perilous...well, it is a tough experience but not exactly the Marine Corps. Grad school in physics is rough, no one will deny that, but it can also be glorious. If you love physics, you will be immersed in the subject of your passion; you will be around people who share that passion with you. Sometimes it is overwhelming, sometimes it is sensational; sometimes it is both simultaneously. There is a wide variation in individual graduate programs, and individual trajectories through those programs. Some programs will get the bulk of their students through in 4-5 years; others take longer. Look into opportunities for fellowships. As you get nearer your decisions for grad school, try to visit as many places as you can and talk with both faculty and current students. The students will give you a good sense of what the culture of the place is; are the faculty nurturing? is there a collaborative environment? Never overlook the importance of how happy you would be in such an environment. Also, talk with the department about placement of former grad students? Do their graduates get jobs in physics? Lots of people will be happy to tell you how hard it is, and of course they have a point. But don't forget being a physicist is a wonderful career. And as the movie "A League of Their Own" pointed out..."it's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great." Same in physics as baseball. Best of luck to you.
How many years should I study for theoretical physics in university from undergrad to PHD?
It really depends on how fast you get through classes and get enough research results for a dissertation. Suppose you are an exceptionally brilliant genius. The average BS in the US requires 4 years, so let's say you do it in 3 years. If you go straight into a PhD program, you might be able to take classes for 1-2 years and only have 1 year for the dissertation due to your brilliance. The minimum for you might then be 3+1+1 = 5 years. Average would be 6 years for BS and MS, plus the number of years it takes you to get your results and write your dissertation. It is that last part that will cause you the most heartache.Most universities in the US cap the amount of time you can spend on a PhD at 7 years. That leaves you 5 years after your regular graduate classes are finished to do research and write a dissertation. Enter university politics. You might be kept around for the full 5 years even if you finish your research much earlier. The reason is that grad students provide the university with research results much at a much cheaper cost than faculty or post-docs. So... it could be as long as 4+7 = 11 years. [Holding students for the full 7 years is no uncommon. I had the results that comprised my dissertation (in CS) within the first 4 years of my graduate study. My advisor used me as an RA for a grant he got from the government for the next two years, after which he agreed to start reading my dissertation. I did my defense at 6.5 years in. I could have done it at 4.5 years.]
What would happen if you wrote your dissertation on a topic unrelated or only partially related to your field of study?
I can see it being a problem, and I can see it not being a problem. If you do apply to chemistry departments, your best bet may be to focus on the right mentor.There are plenty of physicists in chemistry departments and vice-versa, usually because their work has interdisciplinary applications. Check what field their degrees were in. Some faculty are joint-appointed, which makes getting your foot in the door even easier. If your mentor likes your work, it won't matter what department you're in, you'll graduate.However, there's no guarantee that your preferred mentor will take you, even if you're accepted at his institution. You can improve your chances by contacting the professor before you apply. After you're accepted but before you commit, contact him again, and make it clear that you want to work for him. See what he says. Often it's possible to work out an unofficial arrangement. Try this for every school you apply to.Practically, you should also ask yourself why you're considering chemistry programs if the research you want to do is in physics. One possible reason is "physics programs won't accept chemists". But if you apply to schools like Harvard, where the phys department has a strong chem tradition, that reason may not hold at all.
Doing a second PhD in physics?
I already have a PhD in physics, specifically plasma physics and have been working at a national lab for a few years. However, I am now more interested in certain topics within particle physics and possibly doing a post-doctoral fellowship in it. Despite this, I feel I am forced to do another PhD due to my limited knowledge of particle physics and only have taking a few courses in both undergraduate and graduate school and so my knowledge on the field is no where near advanced as a graduate student who has been specializing in particle physics for a few years let alone a PhD. Would I need to do a second PhD or can I apply for a post-doctoral fellowship position in particle physics with my PhD even if it is not in particle physics? I have talked to a few colleagues and friends who have switched from what they originally specialized in, but it was very closely related. Like doing their thesis research in particle physics but switching to nuclear physics. Plasma physics is hardly related to the current research I wanted to do within particle physics.
What is normal mastication or chewing force in terms of psi?
First, a bit of physics. Do you want chewing force or chewing pressure? If you want pressure, then psi is an appropriate unit of pressure. If you want force, then you could measure in pounds. Second, you are doing a dissertation. Why not learn to do your own research? It took me less than 5 minutes to find the answer on Google, and you could do the same (or you could ask a librarian, or you could ask a dentist).
Should I continue my PhD in physics and learn programing at the same time?
This may, perhaps, be a dumb question, but how can you study physics without learning a lot of programming along the way? Between data analysis (e.g., of all that data pouring out of CERN), and various kinds of modeling, one would thing that one has to study and learn a whole lot of programming along the way to a Physics PhD.One need only note that the entire web sprang out of the Physics community - starting at CERN, but also the graphical browser (Mosaic) and the Apache Daemon which came from NCSA, along with a whole slew of other tools developed to support supercomputer users.If you haven’t learned some serious development skills, as part of your Physics studies, then you are probably doing something wrong. And, It would seem to be awfully difficult to write a dissertation that doesn’t include a whole lot of computer-generated tables and graphs - unless you’re doing something incredibly obscure and theoretical.Now software engineering - designing big, complex software systems, and all the tasks associated with delivering “production” software - that’s another set of skills entirely, but those one generally learns on the job, not as part of a degree program.So… rather than thinking about studying some CS on the side - perhaps you should be thinking about studying some CS as part of the mainstream of your Physics studies.
Is Montana state university a good university?
All undergraduate programs are about the same as long as you make good grades. Quantum mechanics at Montana State is not going to be different from quantum mechanics at MIT or Stanford. When you have good undergraduate grades, you can get into a good graduate program where you work closely with a faculty member on your thesis or dissertation research. The quality of the faculty in the graduate program is probably more important since you will be doing cutting edge research, in which case MIT or Stanford would probably be better than Montana State.
What kind of thesis topic should I choose for my masters degree in physics?
What are your goals? If your master's degree is terminal (as mine wound up being), it'll help to research something that'll make you expert enough to go into the industrial world, but will also hold your interest. If you think you want to do a PhD in the future, or move into a different field, you may want something that makes it easier to make that transition.If you want to be a data scientist, choose something where you'll be doing data processing, analysis, and modeling. If you want to do engineering or benchwork, then find some way to exercise and learn that. I picked biophysics purely out of "that sounds cool!" level interest, and it turned out to be a good choice for me, career-wise, but that was a happy accident.