# All Questions

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### Should I heat my room when I'm not here, energy-efficiently speaking?

I was wondering as it's getting cold : is it better for my electricity bill to shut down completely my (electric) heater during day, and to turn it on again when I come home (then it will have to heat ...
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### Superconductors on each side of a flexible membrane what happens?

I have a sheet of flexible Kevlar 16th of an inch thick coated on each side with a high temperature superconductor, what happens when you put hundred amp of current into each side, and then 1000 and ...
2k views

### Is a world with constant/decreasing entropy theoretically impossible?

I'm not 110% sure exactly what I mean by this question. It was sparked by a friend who said he wished the law of entropy were reversed, so he wouldn't have to worry about cleaning the bathroom. ...
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### What are the practical applications of decoherence?

Let me clarify this question somewhat. I know decoherence is ubiquitous in nature and explains the emergence of a classical world from quantum physics. My question is really about how a knowledge of ...
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### Energy required to reach 1 wavelength [closed]

I was curious if there was a forumla to find the energy required to reach 1 wavelength in a given substance. (or a vacumn if that's too hard). I am also wondering if this number can tell us anything ...
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### Was the universe a black hole at the beginning?

Big bang cosmology, as far as I understand it, says that the universe was super hot and super dense and super small. It looks like that all the current matter, seen and unseen, were compressed to ...
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### Physics of the Internet? [closed]

Is there a way to describe the Internet in terms of a physics theory, like how the atom is described by quantum mechanic? If there is, how is it described by this theory.
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### Is it safe to observe the sun through binoculars with welding glass in front? [closed]

I asked this on Reddit but didn't get much of a response. So here goes! I'm looking for low-cost ways to observe the Transit of Venus this summer. Since I'll only be able to see a few hours of it ...
316 views

### Peaks on top of Bremsstrahlung

The following is a graph of the intensity of Bremsstrahlung generated by accelerating electrons to hit a target vs. its wavelength. I'm wondering what causes the additional peaks for high energies? ...
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### Incompatibility Between Relativity and Quantum Mechanics

Why does Gravity distort space and time while the electromagnetic, strong, and weak forces do not? Does this have to do with why Quantum Mechanics and Relativity are incompatible?
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### Is there any idea why the electric charges of electron and muon are equal?

Is there any idea explaining why the electric charges of electron and muon are equal? Edit: The total charge of a particle is proportional to the integral of its own electric field flow through the ...
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### Statics software for structural engineering [closed]

I'm attempting to expand my knowledge of engineering software. I've found comsol and ansys for acoustics and thermodynamics/fluid dynamics (not necessarily in that order), now I'd like to see if I can ...
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### Why do we need 12 atoms to store 1 bit of data?

Recent research at IBM has found a way to store 1 bit of data in 12 atoms. While that is a big accomplishment compared to what we have today, it does seem like a waste to a non-physics eye like me. ...
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Since the Banach-Tarski paradox makes a statement about domains defined in terms of real numbers, it would appear to invalidate statements about nature that we derived by applying real analysis. My ...
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### What is a strain gauge and how do I use one?

As the title says, I have no idea what these things are or how to get or use one. Can I receive a simple explanation or links to one? I'm a computer engineer so I have very little physics/mechanical ...
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### Statistical interpretation of Entropy

I'm preparing my statistical physics course, and while writing the lecture notes it says that a system with non distinguishable particles has much less microstates asociated with a particular ...
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### Is there symmetry in 2d stress tensor in linear elastic fracture mechanics?

Assumptions: Cross terms in strain tensor are defined as equal $\varepsilon_{xy} = \varepsilon_{yx}$. pure mode I crack. Far from crack tip, material is purely elastic and we are way below yield ...
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### How do we explain the phase change between high and low star formation rates?

During a recent talk I was at, someone, who models galaxy characteristics from dust amounts and spectral energy distributions (SEDs), quoted a fairly prompt change from 'high' to 'low' stellar ...
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### Calculating lagrangian density from first principle

In most of the field theory text they will start with lagrangian density for spin 1 and spin 1/2 particles. But i could find any text where this lagrangian density is derived from first principle.
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### Automated telescope system

I am living up north in Norway, 300 km above the Arctic Circle, which gives me six months per year of darkness and cold. I used to have a starter telescope when I was living in Spain, but I gave it ...
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### Synchronising the Earth's rotation via mass redistribution

How much material would have to be moved per year from mountain-tops to valleys in order to keep the Earth's rotation synchronised with UTC, thus removing the need for leap seconds to be periodically ...
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### What did Hawking mean? 'Time started at the big bang'. Book suggestions please [closed]

After writing down this question, I have come to realize that. What I really want is reading materials on the questions below. Before the big bang there was no such thing as 'time' (Steven Hawking on ...
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### Wave function of hydrogen atom including spin of nucleus

How do I write the wave function of hydrogen atom taking into consideration of nucleus spin? For example consider $2S_{\frac{1}{2}}$ state with nucleus spin $I$, then wave function ...
Let's say that there is a circular conical section that has diameter $D=.25x$ without any heat generation and I need to find the temperature distribution. Originially I thought I could use the heat ...