# All Questions

55 views

### How to actually account for air resistance?

What's interested me in my studies thus far is that in a lot of beginner undergrad mathematics and physics courses we're often told to calculate trajectories, velocities, etc. by "ignoring air ...
27 views

### Best book for learning Quantum Communication [duplicate]

I am new in Quantum physics. I want to do my BSc thesis on Quantum Communication. My major is Communication. So I want to learn fast. I have little idea about quantum computing. So please suggest me ...
37 views

### Inclined pulley with unknown hanging mass: when won't the system accelerate?

We have an inclined pulley with angle of $30°$ a block with mass of $10 kg$ placed upon it and It is attached by a rope over a pulley to a mass of $M_A$ which hangs vertically. If $μ_s=0.4$ and ...
713 views

### Does quantum entanglement arise from quantum theory or is it merely an experimental observation?

I assume that entanglement emerges from quantum mechanics because the idea was around before experimental verification (e.g the EPR paper). How then does entanglement emerge from the theory (please ...
13 views

### Direction, closeness and range of streamlines in a flow domain with solid boundary and free surface?

I have a flow-field with solid boundaries and a free surface, I have plotted the streamlines, however I am not sure whether my graph is correct. In fact, I drew the streamlines by taking a range of ...
35 views

### How to calculate the solid-liquid interface energy knowing the surface free energy and liquid contact angle? [on hold]

Given surface free energy something around 20mN/m, and the contact angle around 120° for water (73mN/m). How can I estimate the solid-liquid interface energy of the given solid surface to water? I ...
42 views

### Speed of a magnet

What is the speed of two magnets during the congruent moment of their attraction? Theoretically, could a large enough magnet attract a significantly smaller magnet at near the speed of light? In ...
27 views

### Why is space isotropic in the vector particle's decay?

I come across one proof the Landau-Yang Theorem, which states that a $J^P=1^+$ particle cannot decay into two photons, in this paper (page 4). The basic idea is, the photon's wavefunction should be ...
32 views

### Momentum in the frame of reference of the center of mass [on hold]

I'm a high school student who just learned this topic in class today. I don't understand why the sum of momentum is zero in the frame of center of mass. Also, how can I solve this problem: Three ...
17 views

### Critical engine failure just after rotation: what percent of accelerated slipstream lift does the wing loose? [on hold]

I have searched the web for facts about the lift created by a propeller slipstream (propwash). I have found many web sites that in fact claim that the propeller slipstream does indeed produce a lift ...
16 views

### Mutual inductance theoretically decreasing while EMF is increasing in 2 square coil system

I have a quick question regarding electricity and magnetism. I am measuring the induced emf in a square coil of wire with an inductance of 439uH (the other coil is also 439uH and is the same shape). I ...
13 views

### LOCAL Temperature Gradient and Stress

I'm investigating the thermo-migration failure mechanism in nanoscale ICs interconnects. Typically, a nano wire under thermal stress suffers from material/mass migration or void nucleation if it ...
19 views

### Calculations to Determine Force Required for Gyroscopic Stabalization

I am currently undertaking a project involving gyroscopes, the aim of which is to stabilize a large object. I have read that gyroscopes work because of conservation of angular momentum, and if you ...
39 views

### Quantum Physics, Energy States [on hold]

Which of the following transitions in a hydrogen atom absorbs a photon of the highest energy? a.) $n=2\hspace{1cm}to\hspace{1cm}n=3$ b.) $n=3\hspace{1cm}to\hspace{1cm}n=2$ c.) ...
27 views

### How to minimize the wavepacket dispersion?

This is a final exam problem. Here is what I can remember: We know that if an electron's wavefunction starts out as a narrow wavepacket, and moving in a region of constant potential, then the ...
3k views

### Why isn't length contraction permanent even though time dilation is?

It's my understanding that when something is going near the speed of light in reference to an observer, time dilation occurs and time goes slower for that fast-moving object. However, when that ...
24 views

### Short Wave UV lamp [on hold]

if I remember correctly, shortwave UV is very dangerous such that it can break DNA apart. Today I found this site, where parent can buy some scientific tools for their kids. Do not you think shortwave ...
81 views

### Force of a Train

Imagine that there are two trains and the first train is twice as long as the second train. They have the same mass per unit length and they are traveling at exactly the same speed. If the first ...
22 views

### Does the surface of austenitic steels have an especially “dynamic” phase somewhere between 100 and 200 Celsius?

There is lots of kitchen lore about pans. One popular concept are the "pores" of a steel pan surface, which are the reason why food sticks to the pan when it's not heated properly. I don't know much ...
72 views

### Why (and how) do foods stick to a pan?

We all (sooner or later) have noticed that foods relatively high in protein (especially those low in fat) are very prone to sticking to a pan, or in general to any non-specially-coated metal surface. ...
28 views

### Space formed by dot products of three vectors [migrated]

Suppose I have 3 3D unit vectors $\mathbf{v}_1$, $\mathbf{v}_2$, and $\mathbf{V}$. I define the three corresponding scalars $u_1=\mathbf{v}_1 \cdot \mathbf{V}$, $u_2=\mathbf{v}_2 \cdot \mathbf{V}$, ...
31 views

### Convert angular position to wavelength [on hold]

Can you convert angular position to wavelength in spectroscopy? I need know if it's possible. I don't have too much experience in this subject.
39 views

### Diffraction grating from first principles

I have realised that a lot of books and online resources fail to give a detailed treatment of the derivation of the diffraction grating interference pattern. Normally only the result is stated. I was ...
135 views

### About the double orthogonality of the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian

Consider the usual Hamiltonian describing the motion of a particle, $$\hat H = \frac {\hat P^2}{2m} + V(r),$$ where for simplicity the problem can be considered in 1D on the semiaxis $[a, \infty)$ , ...
84 views

### Does spacetime have a “mass” value? or What is “Spacetime” made out of?

When measuring the MASS within the Universe, does "space" or "spacetime" have a value? I only ask, because when speaking of expansion, space is expanding. Could it be possible, to reverse the ...
25 views

### Confusion about conduction of electricity in a solution

I'm trying to unserstannd conduction of electricity in a solution. Is it correct that anions give their extra electrons to the anode, which transfers the electrons to the cathode, where the cations ...
60 views

### Can interacting Hamiltonians always be written in second quantized form?

Is it always possible to write interacting Hamiltonian in a second quantized matrix form like we do it for non-interacting form $$H=\sum _{\alpha\beta}C_\alpha^\dagger h_{\alpha\beta} C_\beta$$ ...
40 views

### Time travel, could it destroy the Universe? [on hold]

One Universe, One mass. In order for "Mass" to be created, (not matter, not energy, but MASS) a creation point where new mass is Incorporated must exist. No "creation" point has ever been observed. ...
42 views

### Coupled oscillators and Normal Modes

Consider we have a system consisting of 2 arbitrary masses and 3 arbitrary springs connecting them horizontally and between fixed walls, and we want to obtain the motion of each mass after we input ...
67 views

### How can magic be explained with Physics? [on hold]

Assuming that, hypothetically, and for this example only, "magic" means things like magical powers. In movies, games, etc. we witness magic; however, it's never explained how it works with regards ...
79 views

### Questioning Einstein's view on gravity [duplicate]

Oke, so my mind is blown by Einsteins view on gravity, at least as far as I understand the basics and principles he based his views on. One of the first things that struck me was that most of his ...
65 views

### Is light emitted in zitterbewegung? [duplicate]

Recently I heard of Zitterbewegung, a trembling motion of the electrons in atoms that arises from Dirac's equation. I know that, according to Bohr's model, light is emitted when the electron "jumps" ...
3k views

### In reverse time, do objects at rest fall upwards?

I want to develop a game where time runs backwards, based on the idea that physical laws are reversible in time. However, when I have objects at rest on the earth, having gravity run backwards would ...
20 views

### Angular Momentum conservation in star system

This question is related to what happens to a planetary body(like earth) when the star it is orbiting collapses under its own gravity. Suppose a star is rotating about its axis with some angular ...
17 views

### String theory uncertainty limit? [duplicate]

Is there an uncertainty limit, constant (if there is a practically viable numerical constant) or not, to string theory? If so, could you explain what it means, the assumptions it has to hold to be ...
24 views

### Aurora borealis forecasting, some technical details

I have an idea to make a software tool (with some really user friendly interface) for predicting auroras on any place on Earth. I do know some physics behind the phenomenon, but only basics, like it ...
25 views

### Topological S-matrix as an operator in the graphical calculus

My question comes from the following classic paper by Kitaev: Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond (arXiv link) In Appendix E (pg 86), Kitaev introduces a diagram operator $S_z$ which acts ...
26 views

### Dipole approximation in solids

I have seen the use of dipole approximation (where the extent of the wave function is assumed to be much smaller than the wavelengths of the transitions or that of the electromagnetic field applied) ...
35 views

### Change of vectors [on hold]

We have two vectors $F1$ and $F2$ as shown in figure. The change of vectors is shown as $F2-F1$. Why it is it rather than taking negative of vector $F2$ i.e. $-F2$ and then adding it by head-to-tail ...
41 views

### Can diffraction be used like gravitational lensing [on hold]

I was thinking that in both the cases of diffraction and gravitational lensing, light is bend to some extent mimicking the lens effect. My Question is, Can diffraction be used like gravitational ...
31 views

### Can Van Allen Radiation belts act as a capacitor?

There are two Van Allen Belts at rougly 5000Km and 17000Km from the surface of the Earth each of them containing majority of one of the charges electrons and protons). Can these belts like a ...
30 views

### DFT Calculations, Atomic Ionization Potentials — Which Exchange-Correlation Functional to Use, to Preserve Koopmans' Theorem?

I have a program which can perform density-functional calculations for atoms, given a density functional. Of course the simplest form of exchange potential to use is one relevant for a uniform ...
2k views

### Why don't we have a theory of everything?

What is currently stopping us from having a theory of everything? i.e. what mathematical barriers, or others, are stopping us from unifying GR and QM? I have read that string theory is a means to ...
69 views

### What does amplitude in wavelength of light physically mean?What oscilates with time in photon?

Like amplitude in wavelength of water waves signify the displacement of water particles about their mean position.
13 views

### Numerical eigenbasis for a unitary [migrated]

Do you know what numerical software computes an eigenvector basis for a unitary matrix? Say I have a unitary matrix $U$. If its eigenvalues are simple (no multiplicities), then for instance Matlab ...
32 views

### Driven coupled oscillator [on hold]

Consider the following system consisting of 3 masses and 4 springs : Suppose i start to drive the system, for instance horizontally applying a sinusoidal force with frequency w to one of its ...
32 views

### How do we find the accuracy of atomic clocks?

We say that atomic clocks are the most accurate clocks ever made, they may lose or gain $x$ seconds in $y$ years. How do we find this uncertainty because we do not have an ideal clock to compare with ...
10 views

### Minimum spread of frequency and wavelength in neodymium laser

What is the equation linking the minimum spread in wavelength and frequency of a pulsed laser, in relation to the lasers pulse time and operational wavelength. For example: If a Neodymium laser ...