All Questions

397 views

Does Light Ever Cease Once Created

I was reading an article on Huffington Post (link to article) about the Multiverse theory. In the article it said this: The big news last week came from the Background Imaging of Cosmic ...
67 views

How to estimate size of nucleus from minimum scattering angle of electrons? [closed]

I have the following problem: Electrons of energy 350MeV are scattered from a nucleus. The scatter pattern shows a minimum at a scatter angle of 45°. Estimate the size of the nucleus. I feel ...
125 views

Is speed of light ( Sun-to-Earth ) related to the movement speed of solar system?

The speed of light has been measured to be 299 792 458 m/s. Now, the Solar System is traveling at an average speed of 828,000 km/h (230 000 m/s). Summing up the numbers we get close to 300 000 000 m/s ...
113 views

Is a scaled-up aircraft carrier 'ski-ramp' a viable system to impart enough velocity to significantly assist a spacecraft to orbit? [duplicate]

Not a boost straight up to escape velocity, just sufficient added momentum to make a significant economic saving on fuel cost, mass and complexity of a standard launch. It seems ludicrous to me how ...
177 views

Why does the topological entropy scale with $\log(L)$ in 1D?

Why, in one dimension, does the topological entropy scale with the size of system as $S \sim \ln L$, while in a 2D system it scales with $S \sim L$? Why does dimensionality play such an important role ...
55 views

Have I calculated the Newtonmeter ($Nm$) of torque for my corded drill correctly? [closed]

The corded drill is rated at: 450watts at 3000rpm the calculation I have used is: $$\frac{450}{3000} \times 2 \times \frac{3.14}{60}=0.0157$$ I feel I have made a basic error somewhere (as the ...
435 views

Home experiment question

I want to make a home experiment where I roughly explain the phenomenon of water remaining in a straw if you close one end of the straw. So I'm thinking that the weight of the water is pulling it ...
85 views

Active and passive transformations and the change in potential energy

Under active transformation, the particle moves. On the other hand, for a passive one, the coordinate is just relabel. I've read that the passive one will not affect the potential energy and the ...
135 views

How do the different types of energy apply to voltage in a circuit

I was just wondering what happens in a circuit in terms of different types of energy transformations. If you apply a voltage to a circuit then electrons start moving (very slowly). Since the electrons ...
3k views

Can one obtain free energy from the vacuum?

It is known that from the vacuum of a quantum field theory, virtual particle pairs are created and destroyed; is it possible to capture these particles thus obtaining free energy from the vacuum?
534 views

Dimensional Analysis to Determine a Formula

The kinetic energy of a particle confined to a spherical region with a uniform internal potential depends on its mass, the radius of the sphere, and the Planck constant. An electron, confined to such ...
127 views

Commutator summation notation

I have the relation $e^L M e^{-L}=\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac 1{n!} [L,M]_{(n)}$ where $L$ and $M$ are operators. What does the subscript $n$ after the commutator bracket denote?
1k views

The Fifth Gamma Matrix

This is regarding $\gamma^5$, the fifth gamma matrix in quantum field theory. I know its defining properties, namely, $$\gamma^5= -i\gamma^0 \gamma^1 \gamma^2 \gamma^3$$ with ...
52 views

Taking signal travel time into account in Special Relativity

I am having problems taking the time it takes for a light signal from an event to reach an observer into account: For instance, if we have two observers $A$ and $B$ who synchronize their clocks when ...
2k views

How is gravity consistent when you split an object into multiple pieces?

Here's the picture: In picture 1: Assume that we have 2 objects, namely A, and B. Object A with mass $2M$, and object B with mass $m$; and their distance is $r$. Then the gravitational force of A ...
2k views

Calculating the coherence length from a spectrum

I have measured the spectrum of the LED in my interferometry set-up, and now I want to calculate the coherence length from it. A commonly found formula is $l_{coh} = \frac{c}{\Delta f}$, sometimes ...
30 views

Radiation pressure at high temperature

I am reading a book on the history of the hydrogen bomb. The author describes the Teller-Ulam design and explains that the liquid deuterium charge was compressed by the radiation pressure generated by ...
127 views

Can anyone outline the theory of plane wave Born approximation for direct nuclear reactions in detail?

Can anyone outline the theory of plane wave Born approximation for direct nuclear reactions in detail? Also What are the modification introduced in the distorted wave Born approximation? I was ...
67 views

Fluidic gravity, TOE, what's your oppinion on this research? [closed]

It's interesting because we don't normally consider the "vaccuum of space" as a fluid, but it's becoming more apparent that it's an ocean of subatomic stuff. Here's a link to a book: Unified Fluid ...
754 views

Explanation of Lorentz-Force

In high-school level books (for example the german standard text: "Dorn-Bader") I have often seen an explanation of the Lorentz force as on the following picture: The textbooks consider the ...
185 views

How can point-like particles in an ideal gas reach thermodynamical equilibrium?

Having learned that the particles of an ideal gas must be point-like (for the gas to be ideal) I wonder how they can reach thermodynamical equilibrium (by "partially" exchanging momentum and energy). ...
1k views

Does field line concept explain electric field due to dipole?

Consider an electric dipole consisting of charges $-q$ and $+q$, separated by a distance $2a$ and placed in free space. Let $P$ be point on the line joining the two charges (axial line) at a distance ...
307 views

Assumptions of the Coleman-Mandula Theorem

In the original paper All Possible Symmetries of the S-Matrix, by S. Coleman and J. Mandula, they prove their famous 'no go' theorem regarding the possible extensions of Poincaré symmetry. The ...
144 views

How to find density matrix?

The Beam-splitter matrix is $B = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\begin{pmatrix} 1 & 1\\ 1 & -1 \end{pmatrix}$. I want to apply $a^{\dagger}_{1}a^{\dagger}_{2} |00\rangle_{12}$ as the input state for ...
1k views

Equivalence between Hamiltonian and Lagrangian Mechanics

I'm reading a proof about Langrangian => Hamiltonian and one part of it just doesn't make sense to me. The Lagrangian is written $L(q, \dot q, t)$, and is convex in $\dot q$, and then the Hamiltonian ...
46 views

Calculating rate of change of momentum for a package [closed]

A helicopter is flying to the right (in the $+x$ direction) with a constant speed $v$, carrying a package of mass $M$ suspended below it using a cable as shown in the figure. (You can assume that $H$ ...
300 views

Finding gravitational potential due to ring [closed]

A point P lies on the axis of a fixed ring of mass M and radius R at a distance of 2R from its centre O. A small particle starts from P and reaches O under gravitational attraction only.its speed at O ...
203 views

Learning the stress-energy tensor

I am learning dynamics in special relativity and come across the stress-energy tensor. I have real trouble understanding it. I would love answers on How to motivate the definition of this tensor. ...
122 views

How would Hamiltonian for several fermions with spin look?

All discussions of Pauli exclusion principle I read usually talked about antisymmetric wavefunctions, from which the princinple appears. But I would like to see a Hamiltonian for multiple fermions, ...
98 views

Why p-wave superconductors are rare in nature?

I have the basic question that why so many superconducting materials are s-wave and d-wave pairing, but the p-wave superconductors are so rare in nature? An equivalent question may be that why ...
336 views

Calculating the $J$ value for atomic terms, having a lot of trouble with this. Already attempted

I am trying to understand this, and want to be very very clear. This is a homework question but I already attempted to answer it, so please don't put this question on hold. The question What ...
90 views

How far do atoms move in a wire when whirling it horizontally? [closed]

so the question is: I whirl a mass m attached to a wire with length L and diameter d around my head in the horizontal plane. The mass takes t seconds to move around a circle. How far do the ...
7k views

How does surface tension enable insects to walk on water?

I understand that water molecules at the surface have a net inward attraction due to the lack of water molecules above them. I've been reading a bunch of articles, and they say that this inward pull ...
238 views

What causes drag in a fluid?

What causes resistance of an object to motion within a fluid like water? Please explain to me the molecular dynamics of the situation.
942 views

How does “space” expand? [duplicate]

According to Big Bang theory and The Red shift theory "space" is "expanding". Keeping this notion of "space" as physically something in and of itself(space -time did not exist before The Big Bang); ...
377 views

Is the Universe Past-Eternal?

Does the Borde-Guth-Vilenkin theorem definitively demonstrate that the Universe cannot be past-eternal, whatsoever? Does it not assume a classical space-time while the real world requires Quantum ...
501 views

Is changing angle of grooves in a Fresnel lens important for the lens to work?

I'm thinking of making a huge Fresnel lens out of a plastic sheet I found in my storage. As it's for fun, and I'm not very concerned about precision, I thought I could make it using a nail, rope and ...
136 views

Does inflation predict a multiverse?

Does inflation necessarily predict a multiverse? Or is it the case that "It all depends on the properties of the initial field responsible for inflation, about which we can only speculate"?
38 views

An EM problem of polarized sphere

Today, I'm doing an EM problem and my question is exactly the same as this site shows: http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=133501 To reiterate my confusion, why we can't use that integral ...
58 views

A conductor passing a magnetic field?

A large thick copper wire(or bar if you like,) passes a magnetic field. What formula is best to calculate the EMF here? $$EMF = BA / Delta(t)$$ or, $$EMF = vBL$$ When the conductor passes the ...
78 views

Resistances connected in series

When resistances connected in series then why through each resistances the different potential difference occurs?
63 views

sensitive scale & resistance of analog current meter

Does the resistance of an analog current meter increase or decrease when it is set to a more sensitive scale (lower range)?
136 views

Does space have a “radiation pressure” caused by subatomic particles?

If space is not actually a void, then there's something shooting around in it, I'm guessing a lot like molecules in a gas. Could we apply a $(PV/T = k)$ -like gas law to it. Obviously we're not ...
288 views

Why do we require manifolds to be a topological space?

Roughly speaking, we define a manifold $M$ to be covered by a set of charts $\{(U_i , \varphi_i)\}$ such that locally the $n$-dimensional manifolds looks like $\mathbb{R}^n$. One of the conditions is ...
2k views

Why is an electron still an elementary particle after absorbing / emitting a photon?

When an electron absorbs a photon, does the photon become electron "stuff" (energy); or, is it contained within the electron as a discrete "something"?
118 views

Free fall question: Bill shoots his gun [closed]

Bill borrows his dad's gun and when he gets outside he fires it straight up into the air. If the bullet left the gun at 400 m/s: How long does it take the bullet to reach its highest point. I know ...
325 views

Blackbody radiation and Spectral Lines [duplicate]

Blackbody radiation is thermal radiation from a hot object emitted over a continuous range of wavelengths. But why are spectral lines, lines (i.e., you only get certain wavelengths when an element is ...
108 views

Two coffee beans in a cup of water + vibrations = gravity? [duplicate]

If you float two coffee beans in a cup of water that is being vibrated by your subwoofer (go to a sin wave generator online), the two beans will either be attracted to the sides of the cup or if ...
What are the equations for $\Delta S_{mix}$, $\Delta G_{mix}$, and $\Delta H_{mix}$ for a real gas? Explanation: In one of the most well known experiments in thermodynamics, two chambers are ...
There's this problem in Goldstein's (Classical Mechanics) derivations section: 5. Two wheels of radius $a$ are mounted on the ends of a common axle of length $b$ such that the wheels rotate ...