# All Questions

173 views

I always have trouble remembering the sign in factors like $\exp(\pm ik\cdot x)$ (I'll use mostly minus signature here) that arise in field theory. My mnemonic is to remember that the Schrodinger ...
39 views

### Existence of affine parametrization

This is a question from General Relativity by Wald Chapter 3, problem 5. Given either pseudo-Riemannian or Riemannian metric $g_{ab}$ and manifold $M$. Assume the $\nabla$ is compatible with the ...
16 views

### Correct terminology for when neutral atom is ionized due to an electric field?

An electric field will cause an induced dipole in neutral atoms when present - I presume that if the field were strong enough the magnitude of the polarization could exceed a critical length and cause ...
204 views

### First order coherence through double slit

The state $$|\Psi \rangle = |0\rangle + \sum_j \int d\omega f_j(\omega)\hat{a}^\dagger_j (\omega) |0\rangle$$ is coming from a far field and incident on a double slit setup. Here j is the index of ...
37 views

### A metal block in a tub of frictionless ball bearings

If you place a metal block in a tub of small frictionless ball bearings of the same metal, would it stay on top or sink?..
282 views

### Wigner Threshold law in Photodetachment and Photoionization

I am writing this question here because I have a problem in understanding the Wigner Threshold law in Photodetachment and Photoionization. The Wigner Threshold Law is given by: $\sigma$=$E^{L+1/2}$. ...
47 views

### Normalizing a wave function in a mixed well

So I got this potential and want to solve for the even wavefunctions http://imgur.com/GKAy4nD Since it's symmetric around the origin I need only to look at the interval [0,b] and solve for the ...
38 views

### Single story, hotter outside, some shade from porch, enough to cool house with/without air flowing?

So, I know this question, without shade or one-story, has been answered many times on the 'net, so I have some actual physics for the one-story. I am fairly certain my roommate mixed up thermal ...
30 views

### Quantum Dimer Model (QDM) hamiltonian

The Hamiltonian given by Rokhsar-Kivelson QDM is based on tensor products of the state vectors. Why is this the case?, is it because the lattice model is a mixed state? It'd be great if someone could ...
167 views

### Quasi-particle and quasi-hole excitations of Laughlin states and generalization of Laughlin states

The Laughlin wave function at filling fraction $\nu=\frac{1}{m}$ is $$\Psi_m=\prod_{i<j}(z_i-z_j)^m e^{-\sum|z_i|^2/4l_B^2}$$ It is claimed in section 7.2.3 of Wen's ...
984 views

### What planets are visible to the naked eye from Mars?

Here on Earth we are blessed with being able to see some other planets, Mars & Venus etc, with the naked eye on a fairly regular basis thanks to the distance between the planets. What about from ...
8k views

### What is “pure energy” in matter-antimatter annihilation made of?

I used to read the term "pure energy" in the context of matter-antimatter annihilation. Is the "pure energy" spoken of photons? Is it some form of heat? Some kind of particles with mass? ...
34 views

### How was the neutron's spin measured?

In 2012 it was asked, How to measure the spin of a neutral particle. I'm not sure that the answer "Neutron spin can be measured in a Stern Gerlach setup." was really carried out. So what for ...
16 views

### How can contact binaries persist?

This answer discusses contact binaries, which I did not even know existed. I can understand how they could exist for a short time (maybe) as gravitational waves carry off energy that causes the stars' ...
23 views

### Light photon direction in movement

I recently watched a couple science videos on YouTube and left me with a doubt. If a spaceship goes to a really fast speed in the (horizontal) $x$-direction, what would happen if it shoots a light ...
1k views

### Physics-based derivation of the formula for entropy

I am looking for a derivation of the formula $$S~=~-\Sigma_ip_i \log (p_i).$$ for entropy, from first principles. I only wish to assume the laws of physics, and without involving concepts in ...
289 views

### Is energy conserved in general relativity? Does $\nabla_aT^{ab}_{\rm matter}=0$ represent the conservation of energy and momentum?

For example, the radiation dominated cosmology, the energy density of radiation is proportional to $a^{-4}$ and the volume is proportional to $a^3$, where $a$ is the scale factor. So the total energy ...
55 views

I'm currently reading Folland's book on quantum field theory and came along some definitions. On p.90 of his book, Folland defines the symmetric Fock space as ...
36 views

### What happens if I have a square conducting wire being permeated by a magnetic field and the field suddenly disappears?

Suppose there is a square conducting wire in a magnetic field. The two vertical branches will have the same emf, and the two horizontal branches will have 0 emf, resulting in a net emf of zero and ...
46 views

### Quadratic Casimir Operator of $SO(5)$

In the article A Four Dimensional Generalization of the Quantum Hall Effect, arXiv:cond-mat/0110572, by Zhang and Hu Quadratic Casimir operator for $SO(5)$ is given as $$p^2/2+q^2/2+2p+q .$$ When ...
34 views

### Moment of inertia of uniform solid sphere [on hold]

I have derived moment of inertia of solid sphere along diameter but my textbook says that moment of inertia is: $$\frac{2MR^2}{5}$$ What is the mistake in my derivation?
31 views

### is copper a non-magnetic?

I'm working on an optics project that I'm using Fresnel Equation for Intensity. but I've got a question, is copper a non-magnetic ? You know because in Fresnel Equation, for non-magnetic materials ...
63 views

### Car sliding down a frictionless banked curve [on hold]

A car enters a frictionless banked curve with speed $v$. This speed happens to be too great to execute uniform circular motion at the angle $\theta$ the curve is banked at. What will the equations ...
152 views

### Integrating Factor Solution for Plasma Wave Equation

As part of a derivation in Bernstein '58 [1] a linear first-order (eqn. (9) in the image) appears: But the general solution I would usually take (as appears in Gradshteyn and Ryzhik and checked in ...
16 views

### Maximum angle of a prism to have an emergent ray [on hold]

the critical angle of the prism ABC is 40degree. for a ray of light incident on AB , to emerge from the face AB , what should be the maximum value of angle A? please explain how to do this ...
17 views

### Effects of light wavelength on the Lindblad equation of the FMO complex

Recently, I have been interested in the energy transfer within the FMO complex. I was wondering, how could the wavelength of the light that excites the complex affect the energy transfer efficiency. ...
51 views

### Zeroth law of thermodynamics and related discrepancy?

Consider the case: Assume molecules to sphere and their |velocity| as an indication of their temperature. Now for head on elastic collision (i.e transfer of heat), assume the momentum is conserved ...
414 views

### 1D Topological insulator with PT symmetry

Assume I have the Hamiltonian for a 1D topological insulators as: $$H=\sin(P_x) \sigma_x+i \Delta \sigma_{y}+[1-m-\cos(P_x)] \sigma_z$$ where $m$ is the mass term, $P_x$ is the momentum and $\Delta$ ...
10 views

### Why do TiO bands dominate M dwarfs?

I'm new at understanding stellar classification and the spectral classification of stars. What is the exact reason TiO molecules (titanium oxide) dominate the spectrum for M dwarfs? How did this TiO ...
61 views

### How can we define energy? [duplicate]

Can we call matter without mass as energy? just a simple defintion to the word energy; massless matter= energy? and I'm not asking about photons.
930 views

### Find generating function $F_1$ for canonical trasformation

I'd like to know the steps to follow to find the generating function $F_1(q,Q)$ given a canonical transformation. For example, considering the transformation $$q=Q^{1/2}e^{-P}$$ $$p=Q^{1/2}e^P$$ ...
14 views

### How does magnetic field depends upon Linear momentum? [on hold]

has magnetic field depends on momentum? if it depends on it then how it works and what will be result about that?
39 views

### How is the final velocity in 2 body collision distributed between the 2 bodies?

Suppose 2 sphere of mass 1Kg move with velocity 5m/s and 10m/s in same direction. Let us call the ball moving with 5m/s blue and other one red with blue ahead of red from origin. Initial KE of Blue = ...
52 views

### On the connection between forces and the principle of stationary action

Feynman tries to account for the relation between the principle of stationary action, which is a statement about the whole path of a particle, and Newton's second law, which is a statement about the ...
14 views

### What is the reason behind restriction imposed by no-cloning theroem on (k,n) quantum threshold scheme (QTS)?

A $(k,n)$ quantum threshold scheme (QTS) is a method to split up an unknown secret quantum state $\lvert S\rangle$ into $n$ pieces (shares) with the restriction that $k > n / 2$ (for if this ...
105 views

### Two-fluid description of superfluidity

I'm trying to teach myself about superfluidity and I'm slightly confused on the ''two-fluid'' description. From what I understand, the superfluid is considered to be a mixture of two fluids, a ...
18 views

### Viewing tube light through small cracks

This question appeared on a test: If you peer through very small cracks between your fringes at a tube light some distance away will you see interference patterns, Fresnel patterns or Fraunhofer ...
17 views

### PROBLEM RELATED TO HARE'S APPARATUS [on hold]

while using hare's apparatus , ratio of specific gravities of two liquids A and B was found to be 1:4 respectively. the differences in the levels of liquids A and B in the tube were found to be 16cm. ...
27 views

### For a projectile to cover maximum vertical distance in the least time, what will be the angle of projection? [on hold]

My first guess was 90° as there is no horizontal component for velocity when the angle is 90°. But I could not prove it mathematically (and also I'm not sure if it is really 90°).
17 views

### Reynolds Average Navier Stokes equations and turbulence scale

To obtain the time average of an unsteady term like $\frac{\partial u_{i}}{\partial t}$ by definition we perform the following: \begin{align} \overline{\frac{\partial u_{i}}{\partial t}} &= ...
52 views

### Why couldn't a space elvator's cable be tapered?

Why couldn't a space elevator's cable be tapered to solve the weight issue for the cable? After all you don't need a massive amount of tensile strength at the bottom of the cable.
10 views

### How to get image current in magnetostatics? (magnetic slab)

I want to know the image current and its location which satisfies the boundary condition at the interface. This problem was originated from the problem 6-33 in Fields and wave electromagnetics, D. ...
169 views

### Is it possible to calculate the energy of a spark?

I am not a physicist, but this question came to me and I need to answer it, and I think that you guys can help me. Actually my question is just like in the title. Is it possible to calculate the ...
517 views

### Is an electron a superconductor?

A superconductor has zero resistance. What about an electron in a vacuum? Could this simple system be considered superconducting?