About physics
![An art picture in the physics department at MU](img/physics.gif)
Physics is the science of matter and energy and of interactions between the two. In older terms it is the study of the natural or material world and phenomena; natural philosophy.
In Germany we started to study physics in fifth grade. I was intrigued by fascinating experiments and thought exercises that my teacher, Heiner Platzbecker, presented to us between 7th and 13th grade; in regular class as well as in extracurricular meetings. So I decided to study physics in college, I wanted to understand the basic principles that govern our universe. I studied at the University of Cologne and at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I received a diploma in physics in September 1997 and a Ph.D in physics in August 2002.
Please also visit my page about Teaching. On there I have links about Physics Education Research and my Teaching Philosphy. There are other, non-physics writings scattered across my webpages, too.
Below on this current page, I provide outside physics links with explanations. Other information, such as my CV, my Diploma thesis, my dissertation, and my publications, as well as the papers I wrote during my physics studies are on the following pages:
Outside physics links
- The Los Alamos Preprint Server
Ok, it's not in Los Alamos anymore. This is a preprint server for any physics paper in high energy physics (hep-th) or gravity (gr-qc) and many other fields. If it's not there, it's probably not important. - Electronic versions
of the journals of the APS
The American Physical Society has some of their journals online. Others (especially newer issues) require subscription. - Physics
literature database
In the physics field I was working in, you can find any relevant paper here. Search for author, title, etc... Find out how many people cite your papers.