# All Questions

2answers
260 views

### accelerated charged particles and interaction with magnetic field

In high school we are taught that magnetic field perpendicular to velocity of an charged particle experience perpendicular force that causes it to move in circular path by relation ...
0answers
62 views

### numerical diagonalisation comparison of complex Hermition matrix and real matrix

we are doing K space calculation(transnational invariant basis) of Hamiltonian, and trying to compare with exact method for same nos of sites and particles, we are getting big difference in ground ...
0answers
95 views

### experimental bounds on microcausality violation

In "The Great Soviet Encyclopedia", 3rd Edition from 1970-1979, (evidently an old book), some V. I. Grigor’ev has a well-written little note on microcausality. Towards the end he states an ...
1answer
170 views

### computing wavefront deviations for off-axis mirrors

Suppose you have two off-axis aligned mirrors which are nearly planar, with small deformations such that a wavefront at plane $P_I$ at distance $-D$ from the mirrors, is refocused at distance $D$ at ...
4answers
420 views

### Radio antenna producing waves in the visible spectrum

If a radio could produce waves in the visible light spectrum, what would the result be? This is a thought experiment that I've pondered for a few years now. I realize there are a few/many real-world ...
0answers
33 views

### What is the lifetime of an induced magnetization in a para/diamagnetic material?

To the best of my knowledge thermal fluctuations are responsible for washing out any effective magnetization, once the external field is switched off. Since thermal fluctuations need some time to ...
1answer
274 views

### Speed of a falling pencil [closed]

If you balance a pencil of length $d$ on its tip, and let it fall, how do you compute the final velocity of its other end just before it touches the ground? (Assume the pencil is a uniform one ...
2answers
190 views

### Can I treat a quantum process as a Markov process?

When I learned classical Markov process, I noticed some similarity of quantum process and Markov process, and the only difference of them is between probability and probability amplitude whose modulus ...
1answer
159 views

### What would stop a pendulum swinging forever in vacuum? What kind of friction is in vacuum? [duplicate]

Suppose I put a pendulum of metal ball and very thin rope in highest achievable vacuum. What would keep it from not swinging forever?
2answers
138 views

### Why do we care about the maximally extended versions of spacetimes?

One can take a spacetime and maximally extend it, so that geodesics end only on singularities, where they have to end -- not on coordinate singularities, which are not physically significant. But when ...
3answers
223 views

### How can sunlight be white , but pictures of the sun be orange?

I was thinking about elementary physics today and realised: We learned and proved that sunlight is white. But i don't understand why when you look at a picture of a satellite orbiting the sun , it(the ...
1answer
159 views

### Is it possible to excite a semiconductor @ k=0?

Let us assume a direct semiconductor with parabolic band structure around the $\Gamma$ point (which is not bad for most semiconductors) in momentum ($k$) space. Now we excite it with light: I ...
1answer
122 views

### A question about BRST current in bosonic string theory

I have a question about Eq. (4.3.3) in Polchinski's string theory book volume I, p. 131. It is said Replacing the $X^{\mu}$ with a general matter CFT, the BRST transformation of the matter fields ...
1answer
159 views

### Problem of Klein-gordon Equation

Ryder in his QFT book writes in eqn (2.20): Probability density, $\rho = \frac{i\hbar}{2m}(\phi^*\frac{\partial \phi}{\partial t} - \phi \frac{\partial \phi^*}{\partial t})$ Then in the next ...
1answer
58 views

### Where does a sparkly (CO$_2$) water bottle have more presure [closed]

Where does a sparkly (CO$_2$) water bottle have more pressure? At a higher altitude (7000 feet) or under sea level (-8 feet)?
1answer
242 views

### Double slit paradox

This is a relativity-paradox which I can't resolve: The distance between interference lines in the double-slit experiment is: $$\ w = z \lambda/d$$ Where: w: Distance between fringes z: Distance ...
0answers
89 views

### Boundary layer equation

I was trying to understand the derivation of the boundary layer equations at p.145 of http://www.unimasr.net/ums/upload/files/2012/Sep/UniMasr.com_919e27ecea47b46d74dd7e268097b653.pdf. : the ...
1answer
29 views

### About thermionic emission

Does thermionic emission have any limits? If we continued heating the metal plate can it reach a charge of 1 C ? Will the work function increase as the charge of the metal plate increase?
0answers
37 views

### QM -group reps and transforming wavefunctions

QM texts seem to have many ways of motivating the angular momentum operators and deriving the l and m quantum numbers . But the connection between physical rotaions in 3 dim space and an operator in ...
1answer
252 views

### Question about streamline in boundary layers

I was wondering what the streamlines look like in a boundary layer. I found a picture that shows this: I would like to know if this presentation of the streamline is correct. I don't think that it ...
2answers
229 views

### Do green stars exists?

I asked a university lecturer why we don't observe green stars, and he said the blackbody curve averages at that frequency such that the cones in our eyes don't recognise it. I have a hunch that ...
1answer
110 views

5answers
407 views

### Why mathematical equations can describe this world? [closed]

Since I want to understand the world, I learn physics from textbooks. But I feel there is a gap between the textbook and the world. I do not know why the equations in the textbook can control the ...
1answer
214 views

### Weather forecasting with coffee bubbles

The other day I saw this life-hack: And I was wondering how true it is. First of all, I always thought(listening to weather forecasts) that low-pressure atmosphere is what correlates with rain; ...
1answer
207 views

### Do higher-order mass moments have any physical meaning?

The zeroth moment of mass of an object is simply its total mass. The first moment of mass yields an object's center of gravity (after normalization). The second moment of mass yields an object's ...
2answers
87 views

### Cosmological models other than FRW

The FRW is a nice isotropic and symmetric metric but I think its assumptions are too many. I was wondering about alternative models. Specifically are there any prominent alternatives that have more ...
0answers
34 views

### Is deep-space radiation greater in the Sun, or in the shadow of Earth?

http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/604/is-it-possible-to-get-pregnant-through-natural-means-in-space indicates cosmonauts are at risk of irradiation whilst in space. What little I know about ...
1answer
591 views

### Why do most metals appear silver in color with gold being an exception from a scattering and EM viewpoint?

Related: Why are most metals gray/silver? After reading Johannes’ impressive answer to Ali Abbasinasab question of why do most metals appear silver in color with the exception of gold (and copper), ...
2answers
286 views

### What is the algebraic property that corresponds to a topological term?

Warning: This question will be fairly ill-posed. I have spent a lot of time trying to make it better posed without success, so please bear with me. A single $SU(2)$ spin may be represented by the ...
0answers
116 views

### What does “quantum theory forbids promiscuous entanglements” mean?

The context is this article about black hole firewalls. The phrase appears on page 3. It appears to be saying that only pairs of particles can be entangled, never multiple particles, and that this ...
3answers
275 views

### Has anyone ever tried to formulate physics base on computer science or Information processing?

Some physicists and university researchers say it's possible to test the theory that our entire universe exists inside a computer simulation, like in the 1999 film "The Matrix." In 2003, University ...
1answer
104 views

### Notation of $\nabla_{ij}V_{ij}$ Referring to a Potential

There's a brief section in Goldstein's Classical Mechanics book in chapter 1 that derives some useful basic mechanics things. In talking about the total internal energy of the system, there's a ...
1answer
406 views

### Would an octahedral magnet work as a magnetic bottle?

First, let me see if I understand all this: Charged particles are curved by magnetic fields, so if the magnetic field is strong enough, the particles "follow" the magnetic field lines, in N or S ...

15 30 50 per page