All Questions

640 views

what this Lagrangian stands for?

i saw this Lagrangian in notes i have printed: $$L(x,dx/dt) = (m^2(dx/dt)^4)/12 + m(dx/dt)^2*V(x) -V^2(x)$$ what is it? is it physical? it seems like it doesn't have the right units of energy, ...
85 views

Detecting dim objects

What are the minimum conditions (switching times, sensitivity ...) for a camera to detect dim objects, e.g. Oort cloud or Kuiper belt objects, passing by in front of a star in the background? I've ...
215 views

$E=mc^2$ why is it $c^2$ and not just $c$?

Why is constant for the conversion of mass to energy square of the ligths speed? is it bedside it's the fastest real matter? .
1k views

Counter Rotating Bicycle wheels on same axis-> Will they still cause me to spin on a stool?

So people are familiar with the idea of holding a spinning bicycle wheel while on a stool (whose seat can spin). You then tilt the spinning wheel and lo and behold you start to spin on the stool. Ok ...
528 views

Has anyone actually “seen” entanglement?

I want to know if the following has been done experimentally; after the spin (or any other characteristic with a probability of 50%) of 2 entangled particles has been measured, we change the spin of ...
168 views

2 streams going into an engine and 2 come out. Find the enthalpy?

Problem: Steam supply to an engine is made of two streams that mix before entering the engine. Stream 1 flows at a $.01\frac{kg}{s}$ with an enthalpy of $2952\frac{kJ}{kg}$ and a velocity of ...
212 views

Intensity loss due to vignetting

I was trying to get an expression for the loss of intensity due to vignetting in a simple optical system, and got a fairly complex integral. I was wondering if there's an easier way, or any book that ...
64 views

what is a difference in the width of the spinning bar?

The bar with length l, density r, diametr d, Young's modulus E, Poisson's ratio mu, is spinning around the cross-section, what is the change in the width of this bar?
2k views

Meaning of what C. P. Snow said about the laws of thermodynamics [closed]

My native language is not English and I am having hard time understanding the meaning of the following statements which are to explain the laws of thermodynamics. The 1st law: you cannot win ...
3k views

Why does an airliner burn more fuel at lower altitudes?

At lower altitude an aeroplane usually has more lift. However an aeroplane flying at low altitudes (with gear/flaps up) at low velocity burns the same amount of fuel it would flying much faster at a ...
173 views

Geometric entropy vs entanglement entropy (dependent on curvature coupling parameter)

I have a quick question. In hep-th/9506066, Larsen and Wilczek calculated the geometric entropy (which I believe is just another name for entanglement entropy) for a non-minimally coupled scalar field ...
375 views

Non-minimal coupling of electromagnetic field

For a massless scalar field the equation of motion in a general curved Space time is $\frac{1}{\sqrt{g}}\partial_\mu(\sqrt{g}g^{\mu\nu}\partial_\nu\phi)=0$. Though, in the action, we can by hand ...
37 views

Classic mass predictions from Left-Right models with discrete symmetries?

I am covering the classic literature on predictions of Cabibbo angle or other relationships in the mass matrix. As you may remember, this research was a rage in the late seventies, after noticing that ...
293 views

Is this a simple Lie algebra?

This question comes from Georgi, Lie Alegbras in Particle Physics. Consider the algebra generated by $\sigma_a\otimes1$ and $\sigma_a\otimes \eta_1$ where $\sigma_a$ and $\eta_1$ are Pauli matrices ...
587 views

Special conformal transformations and locality

In the conformal symmetry, used in some QFT theories, the infinitesimal generators, applying to space-time, are all linear (translations, rotations, boosts, dilatation), except the special conformal ...
1k views

Do we have an idea about the amount of matter in the universe?

Do we consider the amount of matter in the universe to be "infinite"? Or do we have an idea about "how much" there is?
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Is it possible to calculate specific velocities from acceleration?

I'm trying to understand a sample problem from a current (published 2011) high school physics textbook, but I really think the question is flawed. The task is to convert an acceleration-time graph ...
696 views

Hamiltonian with position spin coupling

I am solving a Hamiltonian including a term $(x\cdot S)^2$. The Hamiltonian is like this form: $$H=L\cdot S+(x\cdot S)^2$$ where $L$ is angular momentum operator and $S$ is ...
9k views

What type of substances allows the use of the Ideal Gas Law?

I know that I can use the ideal gas law with pure gases or pure liquids. But can I also use the ideal gas law at saturated gases and saturated liquids as long as they aren't two phase substances?
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What happens to temperature when pressure is constant in a cylindrical piston of saturated liquid ammonia?

Let's say I have a cylindrical piston containing saturated liquid ammonia that is fitted with an electrical heater and a paddle wheel for stirring at an initial pressure and an initial temperature. ...
221 views

Nonlinear absorption coefficient and the band gap

How does the nonlinear absorption coefficient depend on the band gap? How can that coefficient be calculated theoretically? (Preferably with an example)
724 views

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Consequences for causality if superluminal neutrinos were explained by extra dimensions

One suggestion for explaining superluminal neutrinos (assuming for the sake of argument that the OPERA results should hold up) is that the neutrinos have taken a route through extra dimensions, with ...
980 views

Why does the Earth rotate? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Why does every thing spin? So why would the Earth, or any planet for that matter, rotate along an axis? I know of no force which could come into play here, so i assume ...
407 views

Doubts about tubular Feynman diagrams in string theory

The tubular Feynman diagrams in string theory, unlike the usual Feynman diagrams in QFT, is assumed to represent scattering amplitudes, rather than derived from algebraic expressions of perturbative ...
327 views

Angular Momentum Operator

I'm looking at a review question I was given and it quite frankly has me stumped. "Using matrix representations find $L^{3}_{x},L^{3}_{y},L^{3}_{z}$ and from these show that $L_{x}, L_{y},L_{z}$ ...
9k views

Book against a wall and forces

If you take a book with mass of 1kg and push it against the wall. With how much force do you have to push the book so it does not fall? The problem is I know how to calculate this problem, you say ...
5k views

What are the differences between Comet versus Asteroid versus Meteoroid versus Meteor versus Meteorite?

What are the differences between comet versus asteroid versus meteoroid versus meteor versus meteorite in practical terms?
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Is the Apophis asteroid a concern?

I was watching the TED lecture How to defend Earth from asteroids , and the speaker Phil Plait spoke of the possibility of this asteroid hitting Earth. He also said something about a Mayan legend. He ...
204 views

Drum head coupled with an RLC circuit

I'm thinking about the possibility of an electroacoustic drum that would be tuned with some kind of RLC circuit. The drum head would have an electromagnet attached to its center, which would be ...
768 views

Do the properties of two streams flowing into an engine add together when they mix?

Let's say I have two stream supplys that have separate mass flow rates, enthalpies, and velocities that flow into an engine. Upstream of the engine's inlet, the two streams mix to form one stream that ...
229 views

Is there any know weakness with GNUplot fits? (especially with gauss) [closed]

my faculty push pretty hard on us using GNUplot but it gives me somewhat unconvincing results while attempting to fit a gauss-like function. Is there any known weakness with GNUplot fits or should I ...
1k views

The Sun as a gravitational lens

Since the Sun is a gravitational lens with as focal length of 550 AU for visible light, with an immense amplification factor, shouldn't it light up objects hanging out there? We should get solar ...
1k views

What is the force between two magnetic dipoles?

What is the force between two magnetic dipoles? If I have two current loops parallel to each other with currents $I_1$ and $I_2$ and radii $R_1$ and $R_2$ a distance $z$ from each other, what is the ...
162 views

How does one geometrically quantize the Bloch equations?

I've just now rated David Bar Moshe's post (below) as an "answer", for which appreciation and thanks are given. Nonetheless there's more to be said, and in hopes of stimulating further posts, I've ...
138 views

More data points or more averages?

Perhaps an elementary questions. Given a time limited measurement situation, would it be better for one to measure more averages or more data points? More averages will increase the SNR by ...
81 views

Examples of heterotic CFTs

I'm trying to get a global idea of the world of conformal field theories. Many authors restrict attention to CFTs where the algebras of left and right movers agree. I'd like to increase my intuition ...