# All Questions

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### Calculating an energy of an electron with known De Broglie wavelength (why can't we calculate it similar than we do it for a photon)

Lets say we have an electron with known De Broglie wavelength $\lambda$. Can anyone justify or explain why we calculate its energy $E$ using 1st the De Broglie relation $\lambda = h/p$ to get momentum ...
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### Full calculation of B meson mixing amplitude

I am trying to calculate B mixing in the Standard Model (in preparation to go beyond the SM). I have no trouble doing the gamma matrix algebra etc. but the loop integral keeps tripping me up. In my ...
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### Potential energy: Electric field two spherical charges

I want to determine the potential energy of two equally charged spherical charges by using the equation: $V_{pot}= \int_V \frac{1}{2} \epsilon_0 E^2 dV$ and therefore I was wondering what I has to ...
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### Tighten rope around cylindricaly shaped space

Imagine we live on cylinder(we are 2d creature), put a rope around that cylinder and start pulling both ends of the rope against each another. Will the space get deformed? I guess it will, I have to ...
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### Pockels effect/Kerr effect

In Pockels electro-optic effect, change in Electric field produces change in refractive index/ birefringence. Moreover this effect becomes electric field squared in the case of Kerr effect. If we ...
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### Does 'maximum principal stress fracture criteria' only apply in tensile loading?

I'm working on 3d simulation of solid fracture, primarily for graphics applications. I have one question about the Rankine fracture criteria, which is widely used in the computer graphics community. ...
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### GHz rate single photon counting

The fluorescent lifetimes of molecules used in biological applications tend to be in the sub-ns to a few ns timescale (let's say 0.8-4). The most direct methods to measure lifetimes typically involve ...
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### Calculating specific orbital energy, semi-major axis, and orbital period of an orbiting body

Is it possible to calculate the specific orbital energy $ϵ$, the semi-major axis $a$, and the orbital period $T$ (or $P$) without any of them being available to you? The values I do have available to ...
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### Silicon Laser and Laser mirrors

If I will place Silicon as the active medium to create a Silicon Laser. Why I cannot achieve Lasing ? secondly, why do we always consider Laser mirrors in an standing position along the optical axis ...
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### Polarization in Lasers and Liquid Crystal Displays

When we talk about Polarization in Lasers we mean placement of the crystal at Brewster angle to block the s-polarization and only the p-polarization will survive. How do we compare the term ...
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### How do you build a simple low cost single photon detector?

Rather than buying a 4K-10K single photon detector, I was wondering if there were simple ways to build a simple single photon detector, of decent quality...
2k views

### Cooling down a container in outer space

If I have two containers filled with very hot water(~210F) with one in outer space and one on earth, which one has a higher rate of cooling initially? Imagine the containers are single wall metal ...
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### Why do moving particles emit thermal radiation?

While answering another question about heat in an atom, the discussion in the comments led to the question of how heat is related to thermal radiation picked up by infrared cameras. The answer is that ...
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### How do you travel in a circular orbit around a massive body?

I am trying to figure out how an object could achieve a perfectly circular orbit. Given a mass for the planet or other body the object is orbiting and a distance from the center of mass, how fast ...
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### Charge above a conductor; effects due to Lorentz force law for moving charges

Currently working through a practice preliminary examination problem. I have your standard charge situated a distance d from a infinite conductor(lets say in the $\hat{z}$ direction and neglecting ...
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### What is canonical momentum?

What does the canonical momentum $\textbf{p}=m\textbf{v}+e\textbf{A}$ mean? Is it just momentum accounting for electromagnetic effects?
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### Is the beta barium borate crystal an observer in the delayed choice quantum eraser double split experiment?

I'm a little confused about the top answer to this question: Variation of delayed choice quantum eraser He says "if you simply detect all signal photons and make no distinction between them, there ...
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### Why does a breeze of wind make us feel cooler? [duplicate]

In my Astronomy class, I learned that temperature results from the speed of air molecules colliding into your skin. Thus, if the air molecules in the room have a high kinetic energy and thus collide ...
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### Gauge fixing and degrees of freedom

Today, my friend (@Will) posed a very intriguing question - Consider a complex scalar field theory with a $U(1)$ gauge field $(A_\mu, \phi, \phi^*)$. The idea of gauge freedom is that two solutions ...
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### How to measure the altitude of an object in the sky?

If I use a telescope to observe a plane in the sky, how can I find the altitude of the plane(altitude of the plane with respect to the ground)?
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### Quantum Mechanics Basics: product space

Consider a coupled harmonic oscillator with their position given by $x_1$ and $x_2$. Say the normal coordinates $x_{\pm}={1\over\sqrt{2}} (x_1\pm x_2)$, in which the harmonic oscillators decouple, ...
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### Calculating an expression for the trace of generators of two Lie algebra

Suppose we have $$[Q^a,Q^b]=if^c_{ab}Q^c$$ where Q's are generators of a Lie algebra associated a SU(N) group. So Q's are traceless. Also we have $$[P^a,P^b]=0$$ where P's are generators of a Lie ...
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### Can relativistic energy transformation be explained by time dilation and E=h f?

Can one explain the relativistic energy transformation formula: $$E = \gamma\ E',$$ where the primed frame has a velocity $v$ relative to the unprimed frame, in terms of relativistic time dilation ...
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### Where else in physics does one encounter Reynolds averaging?

Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS) is one of the approaches to turbulence description. Physical quantities, like for example velocity $u_i$, are represented as a sum of a mean and a ...
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### If time stops for an object, does that object feel gravity?

As far as I understand The GTR, it is said that Mass bends space-time which causes gravity. So every Mass in this universe is flowing through space-time example earth is moving along with space-time ...
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### Escape from gravitational field

Why total energy of a spacecraft must be non-negative if we want spacecraft to escape from the Earth's gravitational field?
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### Neutrons in nucleus

When I asked here why neutrons in nucleus (with protons) don't decay I was told that it would require energy for the neutron to decay, it wouldn't give energy. And since that wasn't really what I ...
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### classical understanding of an atom [duplicate]

A problem in Bohr's day was understanding why an orbiting electron does not continuously radiate an EM field. An orbiting electron is a moving charge and according to Maxwell, this should generate an ...
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### Motion of block on wedge

there is some confusion to me in the case of "motion of block on a frictionless wedge" Below is a simple diagram! Let us consider a situation as above in which there is a block of mass $m$ moving ...
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### nuclear physics- Energetics and Mechanics of Nuclear Reaction Homework [closed]

A sample of $^{24}_{12}\mathrm{Mg}$ is bombarded by a monoenergetic proton. If the resulting nucleus in a $^{24}_{12}\mathrm{Mg}(p,\gamma)$ reaction; $^{24}_{12}\mathrm{Mg}(p,\gamma)$ has its first ...
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### How does one show using QED that same/opposite electric charges repel/attract each other, respectively?

Why do same charges repel each other and opposite charges attract each other (please explain the phenomenon using real laws of nature (QED) not with the approximation model)?
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### Velocity of a spacecraft in a circular orbit [closed]

What is a formula for velocity of a spacecraft in a circular orbit? Also, on side note, is there a formula or I can find it from equation of motion?
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### Converting indices of refraction

If I know that the index of refraction of a given substance is 1.4 for the average wavelength (say 550 nm), and I would like to know what is the index of refraction with a wavelength of 832 nm, how ...
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### Potential energy of the dipole-dipole interaction for two parallel dipole moments

I am looking for an equation that gives me the potential energy of the interaction between two parallel dipoles.
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### What is the friction between cylinder and wall (ground)?

A hollow cylinder (radius $R$) is rolling against the wall at angular speed $\omega$. The coefficient of friction between the cylinder and the wall(ground) is $\mu$. After how many rotations the ...
291 views

### Negative mass dirac equation -> Propagator?

There are two types of dirac equations: $(p_\mu\gamma^\mu - m)\Psi(x) = 0$ and $(p_\mu\gamma^\mu + m)\Psi(x) = 0$. Here $p$ are the momentum operators. The fermion propagator is defined in the ...
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### Laser Transverse/Longitudnal Modes

When we say Laser transverse modes. Is that mean what we will get at the output spot of laser beam ? secondly In practice , what TEM01 or TEMnm means ?