If you want to learn the language of man, read the Bible. But if you want to learn the language of God, then study physics.
The old adage is heard frequently in science circles, and is one that has inspired King's High School pupil Sam van der Weerden to pursue his passion for theoretical physics.
So much so, the 17-year-old was recently selected to attend the International Summer School for Young Physicists in Toronto in July, where he will be immersed in physics research and experimentation for two weeks.
Sam is one of 40 people around the world, and the only New Zealander, to have been selected.
"Theoretical physics is the study of physics that we're not too sure about what is going on with it just yet - things like the Standard Model of particle physics, gravity, quantum dynamics, astrophysics, cosmology - all those really tiny-scale and big-scale things.
"Theoretical physics is really the next step in understanding the language [of God] and understanding why we are here.''
Sam said he would have the chance to hear from some of the world's top physicists and learn about the next generation of physics.
He will also visit the nearby Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (Snolab), an underground science laboratory specialising in neutrino and dark matter physics.
It was located 2km below ground in the Vale Creighton Mine, in Ontario, he said.
"It's an underground neutrino detector. Neutrinos are tiny particles that don't weigh anything, so trying to detect them is a huge thing. Literally, they use a ball of liquid argon which floats in the middle of the mine shaft.
"I'm looking forward to saying I've seen these huge-scale experiments, as well as tiny-scale mathematics and how they relate. It's stuff that very few people get to see.''
The school is not the first overseas study tour Sam has been selected for. Last year, he went to Sydney to the International Science School.
Sam's trip to the physics school will be funded from the Talented School Students Travel Award, which is managed by the Royal Society of New Zealand and funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
