<p>I want to do some independent research, but I am only in high school. My research topic would probably be in physics, but I do not know what in the physics. If you could give me some possible topics that would be great, and also how would I get college recognition through this independent research. What should I do to carry out this research? Is this possible as a high school student?
thanks!</p>
<p>I do independent research in a plant pathology lab and it has been one of the best experiences of my life. I would recommend looking up what professors at colleges and universities in your area are researching and decide what interests you. Then find a way to contact them and see if you can volunteer in their lab, perhaps under a grad student. I started by basically doing pretty menial jobs: planting, harvesting seeds, etc., but I was with a fabulous grad student and a great professor, and within a year, I had my own research, but it was still guided by the grad student. Now (another year or so later) I am developing my own experiments, doing completely my own research, and then interpreting the results. I started as a freshman, so I hadn’t even learned much biology, and a lot of it was over my head at that point, so it progressed perfectly for me as I did chemistry and then Adv Bio.
I presume that you’ve taken at least some physics though? If so, when you approach a professor, ask intelligent questions about their research to show that you’ve thought about this and really care, but don’t try to show off, because they absolutely know more than you do. And its probably a good idea to work on whatever they are working on, and not doing something completely independent, at least when you start.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Physics is perhaps one of the most difficult areas in which to conduct independent research, just because the remaining unsolved problems either rely on philosophical interpretation or high-energy accelerators since there has been so much exhaustive research that almost nothing remains. </p>
<p>I suggest environmental science, engineering, or computer science as alternatives that a high school student can actually feasibly research, and qualifying as a semifinalist for Intel would really help getting the word out.</p>
<p>Well… as for unsolved problems in physics:
-Hilbert’s sixth problem
-Unify quantum mechanics and general relativity
-Find the most massive metastable nucleus
-Derive the cosmological constant from established theories
-Justify the discrepancy between the total quantity of matter and antimatter
-Explain the arrow of time
-Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness (Clay Math Institute millennium prize problem)</p>