# All Questions

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### Has anyone studied a statistical scaling law for the universe? [closed]

How do named objects in the universe scale? Is there a predictable curve for an ordered list, say {atom, animal, planet, solar system, galaxy, etc}? Can you then use the analysis to predict when the ...
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### can we have a parallel earth made of dark matter?

In the sense that the two planets move together and has intelligent beings with their own forces and particles, but they just do not interact with (are invisible to) us?
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### Geometrical interpretation of complex eigenvectors in a system of differential equations

Let's consider a system of differential equations in the form $$\dot{X} = M X$$ in two dimensions ($X = (x(t), y(t))$). In the case that $M$ has real values, it is easy to give a geometric ...
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### Physical Interpretation of the Integrand of the Feynman Path Integral

In quantum mechanics, we think of the Feynman Path Integral $\int{D[x] e^{\frac{i}{\hbar}S}}$ (where $S$ is the classical action) as a probability amplitude (propagator) for getting from $x_1$ to ...
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### Is there absolute proof that an object cannot exceed the speed of light?

Have any known experiments ruled out travelling faster than the speed of light? Or is this just a widely accepted theory?
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### What truly is mass, and is there a direct way to measure it?

We know a mass of an object of one kilogram as an object that weighs W = mg = 9.8 N and we reference it to that, (when it should as a fundamental parameter describe weight not the opposite). But if we ...
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### Vector representation of wavefunction in quantum mechanics?

I am new to quantum mechanics, and I just studied some parts of "wave mechanics" version of quantum mechanics. But I heard that wavefunction can be represented as vector in Hilbert space. In my eye, ...
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### Does a cross really have a smaller area moment of inertia than a square of the same area?

I need to calculate the area moment of inertia of a cross for a homework assignment. The cross is a symmetric plus sign: _ | | |== ==| | | - ...
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### Uncertainty Principle and Energy range for an electron in an atom

I have the following exercise: Use Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and the relation $\Delta u = \sqrt{\langle u^2 \rangle - \langle u \rangle^2}$ to find the range of energy an electron has in an ...
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### Looking for modern results in semiclassical physics and relevant references

What are some important approximations, especially those that are state-of-the-art, used to approximate the many-body dynamics of atoms and molecules in the semiclassical regime? To be clear, I'm not ...
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### Overcharging a black hole

Hubeny's 1998 paper got a lot of people interested in determining whether cosmic censorship can be violated by dropping too much charge onto a black hole. It suggested that you might be able to get a ...
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### How much refraction occurs as a fraction of all reflection and refraction?

When light reaches a boundary between materials below the critical angle, some of it refracts and some of it reflects. For example, glass acts as a partial mirror with a dark background. Assuming ...
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### Semi-major axis and ellipticity of a binary system?

In the image below (source at bottom), it seems to be suggesting that $$a = a_{1} + a_{2}, \hspace{8cm}(1)$$ where $a_{1}$ and $a_{2}$ are the semi-major axis of the ...
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### Quantum graph theory: complex spectra

In quantum graph theory, what are the properties of a given graph to own complex conjugated complex eigenvalues, either finite or infinite? Spectral graph theory is as far as I know a not completely ...
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### Spectral properties of CFT

What are the general spectral properties of CFT? I mean what is the "spectrum"/eigenvalues of CFT in 2d and d>2 spacetime dimensions? I understand the "spectrum" and "Fock space" realization of Dirac ...
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### What happens at the interface between two universes with opposite thermodynamic arrows of time? [closed]

I was trying to think but cannot figure it out. For instance, if the interaction is small, for instance limited to a windows, the observers in each universe will see that the other goes in reverse. ...
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### Relation of the Bloch-Siegert shift to the rotating pot lid

I see in Wikipedia that the Bloch-Siegert shift is analogies to the rotating pot lid, could you explain that analogy? The Bloch-Siegert shift is a phenomenon in quantum physics that becomes ...
573 views

### How does a star ignite?

I remember reading that X-Rays are generated by 'braking' electrons in a Coolidge tube. Is it fundamentally a matter that the extreme gravity immediately before a star ignites is so strong that it ...
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### Could some design of a propeller be used in both air and water?

Propellers in water are smaller in diameter. They also move more slowly. On the other hand, aircraft propellers are larger in diameter, have narrower blades and operate at very high speeds. An ...
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### Analytical solution of two level system driving by a sinusoidal potential beyond rotating wave approximation

A quantum mechanical two-level system driving by a constant sinusoidal external potential is very useful in varies areas of physics. Although the wildly used rotating-wave approximation(RWA) is very ...
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### Photon as the carrier of the electromagnetic force

My physics background goes as "far" as reading popsci books on QM, Particle Physics, and Cosmology so pardon my ignorance in the below questions. I've read that the photon is the particle (quanta in ...
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### A sphere, a simple object?

In this video, the woman says that a sphere is a pretty simple object. What intrigues me is the use of a sphere for such a calculation. First of all, the sphere wouldn't be perfect as a perfect sphere ...
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### English translation of Helmholtz' paper: “On the Physical Significance of the Principle of Least Action”

I am asking about an English translation of a Helmholtz paper: Ueber die physikalische Bedeutung des Princips der kleinsten Wirkung. Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik (Crelle's ...
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### How do we know that light is massless? [duplicate]

Almost everybody knows that light is massless. But where this come from and how it can be proven (experimentally or theoretically)? I actually found this article which explains and calculates the mass ...
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### Simple harmonic oscillator system and changes in its total energy

Suppose I have a body of mass $M$ connected to a spring (which is connected to a vertical wall) with a stiffness coefficient of $k$ on some frictionless surface. The body oscillates from point $C$ to ...
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### Can virtual image be photographed

Is there any instrument that can photograph a virtal image? How would such a device work?
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### Can acceleration feel like constant gravity for indefinitely long?

So here's the setup: I'm in a spaceship, without windows as always, and the ship is accelerating upwards at a constant rate of $1\,\text{g}$. So inside the spaceship it feels like I'm being pulled ...
An electric dipole moment is defined as $p = q\times 2d$. How to understand it physically? Why the direction of the electric dipole moment is from negative charge to positive charge?