# All Questions

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### Kronig-Penney model

I am studying the Kronig-Penney model as treated in the book by Kittel: Introduction to Solid State Physics. In this model one considers a period potential which is zero in the region $[0,a]$ ...
489 views

### Bloch's theorem

I am studying Bloch's theorem, which can be stated as follows: The eigenfunctions of the wave equation for a period potential are the product of a plane wave $e^{ik \cdot r}$ times a modulation ...
375 views

### Finding current in a sphere while given a changing current density

im trying to calculate the current running through a sphere while given a current density $$J=Jcos(2\theta)e^{-t/r} \hat r$$ J is given in spherical coordinates. I know that: $$I=\int J\,da$$ But I ...
3k views

### How close does light have to be, to orbit a perfect sphere the size and mass of Earth?

The moon orbits Earth at about $380,\!000 \,\mathrm{km}$ away from it, at around $3,600 \,\mathrm{km}$ an hour. I was thinking, with light traveling at $300,\!000 \,\mathrm{km/s}$, how close to ...
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### What are the longitudinal and transverse relaxation times in three level atom

Can anyone explain to me what is the longitudinal and transverse relaxation times in three level atom What is the physical meaning of them ? And how I can add the terms of relaxation time to the Bloch ...
200 views

### What exactly is ''electric energy''?

If the two fundamental types of energy are kinetic and potential energy, is electric energy simply the kinetic energy of charge carriers? Also, is the statement "A cell converts chemical potential ...
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### Perception of sound in varying temperature

If one disregards situations like explosions (where air is heated) etc. and also disregards humidity – does temperature affect sound in any way for the observer? Say for example one listens to a ...
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### 1D Hubbard model in the negative U limit

In the 1D Hubbard model at half-filling, is the ground state considered as a charge-density wave (CDW) state in the very negative U limit? Is there a long range order exist in this case? Is a CDW ...
374 views

### Trajectory of a photon around a Schwarzschild black hole?

Consider a photon coming from the infinity in a unbounded orbit to a Schwarzschild black hole (Schwarzschild radius $r_{s}$) (see this for illustration). Its impact parameter is $b$ and its distance ...
215 views

### How are complex sound waves combined?

Audio is often explained by single frequencies. Typically this is a sound wave: plot sin(x) * 2 from 0 to 10 However we usually deal with more complex sounds, ...
1k views

### How do traveling waves pass through a standing wave node, if the node doesn't move?

I'm having trouble with the explanation that a standing wave in a string is the superposition of traveling waves. The nodes in the diagram above are points where the particles of the string's ...
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### electrostatics particle charging

When ash particles are charged negatively ( corona charging, ionization, tribo electric ) and then collected on to the fabric; particles arrange themselves in porous dendritic structure whereas ...
245 views

### Gas vs electric cooking

I've heard it said many times that you're more likely to burn food on an electric stove than a gas one, but I can't tell a difference. This seems to me to be a fallacy perpetuated by the natural gas ...
534 views

### Infinite series of derivatives of position when starting from rest

Suppose you have an object with zero for the value of all the derivatives of position. In order to get the object moving you would need to increase the value of the velocity from zero to some finite ...
170 views

### In what applications are lasers necessary vs. just convenient?

I’m trying to understand, given the wide array of current laser applications: Which applications actually require laser characteristics, as opposed to just use lasers because they are the most ...
83 views

### Pair Creation and Reference Frames

Ok, so I have a question about an example problem in my textbook (its long but not difficult to follow. My question is at the bottom after I outline the problem). Consider the situation below in frame ...
44 views

### Would a large, small mass object in orbit experience induced rotation

Imagine a large (multiple earth radii), very small-mass ring orbiting The Sun. Half of the ring would be closer to The Sun than the outer half. Since orbital velocity decreases with distance, two free ...
583 views

### Would dropping large blocks of ice into the ocean mitigate global warming?

This amusing Futurama sketch 'solves' global warming by dropping increasingly larger blocks of ice into the ocean. Presumably the blocks of ice are harvested from a different planet. Would this ...
111 views

### About Hilbert and Physics [duplicate]

Was one of Hilbert questions regarding physics to make an axiomatic foundation for physics? Regardless of Godels work could some Physics principles that are 'basic' and 'presently verifiable' be ...
255 views

### Book with solved examples and exercise problems for SUSY

I am learning supersymmetry right now. I am mostly following Bailin and Love. I try to connect all the steps from the book and complete the derivations in order to get comfortable with the ...
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### Conservation law of equation involving Hilbert transform

I am trying to confirm a conservation law I cam across in a paper (Janssen 1983 "On a fourth-order envelope equation for deep-water waves" Journal Fluid Mechanics), and am having difficulty. In ...
366 views

### Effect of wavelength on photon detection

When some photon detector detects a photon, is it an instantaneous process (because a photon can be thought of as a point particle), or does the detection require a finite amount of time depending on ...
333 views

### Help calculating field of view for ball lens I just bought

I have a 5 mm (diameter) solid ball lens that I intend to place in front of a 36mm X 24mm camera sensor (I have already made preparations for the image to be focused and for the sensor to not be ...
16 views

### Resolution Limit for Energy Transition Imaging

I understand that when imaging the resolution limit can be given by Ewald's sphere which is due to the maximum amount of momentum that can be transferred. But how can we come up with a resolution ...
115 views

I am trying to understand some points about the paradox, what I am doing is solving the for the step potential $$V = V_0 ~\theta(z)$$ I have two solutions $$\Phi_I = e^{ik_1 z} + r e^{-ik_1 z}$$ ...
476 views

### A general solution to continuity equation

Let us write the standard continuity equation $$\frac{\partial \rho}{\partial t} + \vec{\nabla} \cdot \vec{\jmath} = 0.$$ Should the relation $\vec{\jmath} = \rho \vec{v}$ be considered as a general ...
2k views

### In which direction does the current flow in a wire moving north to south along the Earth?

I stumbled upon this question and I can't seem to figure it out. I think you have to use the right hand rule, but it doesn't get me the right answer. The question is something along the lines of: ...
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### What is the precise definition of state of a quantum system?

On studying quantum states of the hydrogen atom, I came with a question: what is the precise definition of a quantum state? Particularly, when solving the Schroedinger eq for the H using separation of ...
360 views

### Bullet hits block. Show that linear momentum is not conserved [closed]

"..." First, we will familiarize us with a collision between a homogeneous beam of length, $L$, mass $M$ attached with a frictionless hinge in point $O$ at one of the endpoints of the beam. The ...
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### When photons are emitted, do they accelerate to reach the speed of light? [duplicate]

Photons are considered mass-less particle with a specific velocity but according to the electromagnetic theory, a photon is considered to have both energy and momentum. So what happen when they are ...
131 views

### confusion on vector quantities

How can we define simply that velocity is a vector quantity without mentioning that velocity has vector properties. How can we simply say it needs both magnitude and direction for its complete ...
3k views

### What is the difference between light and visible light? [duplicate]

After watching a few videos on light and electromagnetic radiation, I am a little confused. The way things are explained, is that light is just the same as electromagnetic radiation I thought this ...
51 views

### Learning material on optical computing

I'm looking for guidance to choose material for a self-study of photonics, biased towards optical computing recent advances. My background is of undergraduate level electrodynamics, quantum ...
566 views

### Tangential and radial acceleration in projectile motion

I'm currently learing kinematics, specifically projectile motion and as an example in my textbook is a bullet fired at some angle. I understand the derivation of formulas to describe that motion and ...
847 views

### Yang-Mills CP violation

Why does a term proportional to $\left(F,\,\tilde{F}\right)\propto Tr\left[ F_{\mu\nu}\tilde{F}^{\mu\nu}\right]$ in the Lagrangian of the pure Yang-Mills theory violate CP?
62 views

### Estimating quantum efficiency of gated avalanche photodiode

I have a photon counting system that uses a gated avalanche diode to detect single photons. The repetition frequency of the gates is $f_1$ and the temporal gate width is $\tau_1$ (so the duty cycle is ...
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### How do we know quantum entanglement exists/happens? [closed]

We know that this strange behavior is there but I am not to able grasp, how do we know it exists? Have we ever tried any experiments confirming this? Do we make use of this?