# All Questions

420 views

### CPT and heat equation

I haven't understood this thing: Physics is invariant for CPT trasform...But the Heat or diffusive equation $\nabla^2 T=\partial_t T$ is not invariant for time reversal...but it's P invariant..So CPT ...
756 views

### Nonlinear optics as gauge theory

the widely used approach to nonlinear optics is a Taylor expansion of the dielectric displacement field $\mathbf{D} = \epsilon_0\cdot\mathbf{E} + \mathbf{P}$ in a Fourier representation of the ...
843 views

### An iPhone falling on carpet is fine, is it true? [closed]

I heard that an iphone falling on carpet would not cause damage to it, both internal and external. Any physical explanation for this?
870 views

### Relation of angular speed of a rigid body to Euler's Angles

My Question was like this and i have realised few things and still have some doubts I have a book in which a paragraph goes like this Now, $\dot\phi$, $\dot \theta$, $\dot\psi$ are respectively ...
931 views

### Separation of variables, eigenfunctions of the Dirac operator

Disclaimer: I am not a physicist; I am a geometer (and a student!) trying to learn some physics. Please be gentle. Thanks! When solving the Schrödinger equation for a particle in a spherical ...
1k views

### Why are there 3 quarks in proton?

A few quark related questions (I don't knowmuch about them other than there are 2 flavours concerning protons and neutrons) Why are there 3 quarks in a proton or neutron? Why not 2 or 4? Is there an ...
228 views

### Is it possible to determine timescales of electron dynamics from the natural linewidth of an electronic transition?

A lot of work has been done recently on electron dynamics using attosecond pump-probe techniques; for instance in this paper. In this particular paper, the authors photoionized the neutral ...
6k views

### Is it possible to obtain gold through nuclear decay?

Is there a series of transmutations through nuclear decay that will result in the stable gold isotope ${}^{197}\mathrm{Au}$ ? How long will the process take?
2k views

### Why are quark types known as flavors?

There are six types of quarks, known as flavors. Why where these types called flavors? Why do the flavors have such odd names (up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom)?
2k views

### Spherical wave as sum of plane waves

How can we do this computation? $\iiint_{R^3} \frac{e^{ik'r}}{r} e^{ik_1x+k_2y+k_3z}dx dy dz$ where $r=\sqrt{x^2+y^2+z^2}$ ? I think we must use distributions... Physically, it's equivalent to ...
2k views

### Ising model for dummies

I am looking for some literature on the Ising model, but I'm having a hard time doing so. All the documentation I seem to find is way over my knowledge. Can you direct me to some documentation on it ...
628 views

### Light emission spectrum units

Do someone knows the units of the spectra provided here ? It seems obvious enough that it's said nowhere, but even Wikipedia and other sites are quite blurry on this point. So, is it power ($W$), ...
2k views

### Why does my watch act like a mirror under water?

I have a digital watch, rated to go underwater to $100 \rm m$. When it is underwater it can be read normally, up until you reach a certain angle, then suddenly, it becomes almost like a mirror, ...
413 views

### What is an analog to QM's Hilbert space in GR?

I've read that QM operates in a Hilbert space (where the state functions live). I don't know if its meaningful to ask such a question, what are the answers to an analogous questions on GR and ...
1k views

### How many Onsager's solutions are there?

Update: I provided an answer of my own (reflecting the things I discovered since I asked the question). But there is still lot to be added. I'd love to hear about other people's opinions on the ...
906 views

### Does the energy of a magnetic field decrease when it moves a conductor carrying a current?

When a charged particle moves in an electric field, the field performs work on the particle. Thus, the energy of the field decreases, turning into kinetic energy of the particle. Does the magnetic ...
13k views

### How efficient is an electric heater?

How efficient is an electric heater? My guess: greater than 95%. Possibly even 99%. I say this because most energy is converted into heat; some is converted into light and kinetic energy, and ...
161 views

### Can I parameterize the state of a quantum system given reduced density matrices describing its subparts?

As the simplest example, consider a set of two qubits where the reduced density matrix of each qubit is known. If the two qubits are not entangled, the overall state would be given by the tensor ...
671 views

### Is there a conserved quantity that enforces planar orbits in central force motion?

From what I remember, one of the first steps in finding the equations of motion for an orbiting body is to argue that the body's motion has to be restricted to a plane, because the central force has ...
5k views

### Why is the mapped universe shaped like an hourglass?

I've watched a video from the American National History Museum entitled The Known Universe. The video shows a continuous animation zooming out from earth to the entire known universe. It claims to ...
2k views

### How far does a trampoline vertically deform based on the mass of the object?

If a baseball is dropped on a trampoline, the point under the object will move a certain distance downward before starting to travel upward again. If a bowling ball is dropped, it will deform further ...
3k views

### Relation between density and pressure for a perfect fluid

what is the relation between mass density $\rho$ and pressure $P$ for a perfect fluid ?
142 views

### Behaviour of mass and momentum distributions under Newtonian Gravity

In the context of this question should mass distribution $\rho(r,t)$ and momentum distribution $p(r,t)$ be well behaved ? By 'well behaved' it is meant that derivatives of all orders exist everywhere. ...
458 views

### If time standard clocks and any memories about the time standard are destroyed, can we recover the time standard again?

Assume the time standard clocks and any memories about the time standard are destroyed. Can we recover the time standard again exactly? Recovering the time standard again means we can determine the ...
1k views

### Why some nuclei with “magic” numbers of neutrons have a half-life less than their neighbor isotopes?

It's easy to find the "magic" numbers of neutrons on the diagrams of alpha-decay energy: 82, 126, 152, 162. Such "magic" nuclei should be more stable than their neighbors. But why some nuclei ...
4k views

### Reciprocal Lattices

Is there an easy way to understand and/or visualize the reciprocal lattice of a two or three dimensional solid-state lattice? What is the significance of the reciprocal lattice, and why do solid ...
1k views

### Appearance of atoms

I was watching a documentary entitled "The Atom" and one of the statements made was that Atoms behave differently when we look at them. I wasn't too sure about the reasoning behind this and i'm hoping ...
184 views

### Evolution of mass and velocity distributions under newtonian gravitation

Let $\rho(r,t)$ and $v(r,t)$ be mass and velocity distributions. Given $\rho(r,0)$ and $v(r,0)$ (initial conditions) what is the differential equation that describes the evolution of $\rho(r,t)$ and ...
7k views

### Is there a name for the derivative of current with respect to time, or the second derivative of charge with respect to time?

This measurement comes up a lot in my E&M class, in regards to inductance and inductors. Is there really no conventional term for this? If not, is there some historical reason for this omission? ...
361 views

### What is the definition of momentum when a mass distribution $\rho(r,t)$ is given?

This question is Edited after recieving comments. What is the definition of momentum when a mass distribution $\rho(r,t)$ is given? Assuming a particle as a point mass we know the definition of ...
688 views

### General relativity (gravitation) in time and one spatial dimension

I don't have any idea of general relativity but intend to learn. Is it a good idea to study general relativity in two dimensions (time and single spatial dimension) in the begining to get good idea on ...
4k views

### Why is Physics so hard? [closed]

I'm in a classical mechanics class now. On our exams, most questions are quantitative. And in general, besides the theory part, all physics problems just require you to gather formulas, manipulate ...
669 views

### 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

I understand that the 2nd law of thermodynamics roughly states that, if you have a body (or a gas in a chamber) that is hot at one end and cold on the other, the heat will always flow from the hot to ...
4k views

### Is it possible to separate the poles of a magnet?

It might seem common sense that when we split a magnet we get 2 magnets with their own N-S poles. But somehow, I find it hard to accept this fact.(Which I now know is stated by Gauss's Law) I have ...
306 views

### Searching books and papers with equations

Sometimes I may come up with an equation in mind, so I want to search for the related material. It may be the case that I learn it before but forget the name, or, there is no name for the equation ...
297 views

### What happens for the spins around the phase transition

Suppose we now consider a lattice of spin, say Ising model, and the phase transition at the critical temperature $T_c$. There are few scaling laws describe the regime around the critical temperature ...
2k views

### Measuring the speed of light and defining the metre - absolute or relative?

If the metre is now defined as the distance light travels in vacuum in 1⁄299,792,458th of a second and the speed of light is accepted to be ...
333 views

### Teleportation by quantum isolation

This is a thought experiment, so please don't treat it too harsh :-) Short: If we could isolate two places A and B in the universe from all and any interaction with the surroundings, is there a ...
266 views

### Is there a theory about kinetic energy “particles”? [closed]

We have a model of electricity which says electrons flow from one place to another. We have a model of optics which says that photons go from one place to another. As I understand, there is currently ...
149 views

### Four-dimensionalism vs energy economy

Four-dimensionalism claims that the universe is basically one huge space-time worm and that everything exists at once (however you want to say that since "internal time" is then just another ...
2k views

### Is rotational motion relative to space?

Let's assume that there is nothing in the universe except Earth. If the Earth rotates on its axis as it does, then would we experience the effects of rotational motion like centrifugal force and ...
2k views

### Is kinetic energy a relative quantity? Will it make inconsistent equations when applying it to the conservation of energy equations?

If the velocity is a relative quantity, will it make inconsistent equations when applying it to the conservation of energy equations? For example: In the train moving at $V$ relative to ground, ...
3k views

### Scattering of light by light: experimental status

Scattering of light by light does not occur in the solutions of Maxwell's equations (since they are linear and EM waves obey superposition), but it is a prediction of QED (the most significant Feynman ...
1k views

### Best example of energy-entropy competition? [closed]

What are the best examples in practical life of an energy-entropy competition which favors entropy over energy? My initial thought is a clogged drain -- too unlikely for the hair/spaghetti to align ...
1k views

### Is there a difference between observing a particle and hitting it with another particle?

First, let me state that I'm a lot less experienced with physics than most people here. Quantum mechanics was as far as I got and that was about 9 years ago, with no use in the meantime. A lot of ...
962 views

### If the light velocity is a vector quantity, why vector addition cannot be applied to it?

If the light velocity is a vector quantity, why vector addition cannot be applied to it? Or the light velocity is not a vector quantity?
9k views

### Why does dust stick to rotating fan propeller?

Why does dust stick to rotating fan propeller? Intuitively, most people (including I) think of the dust will not stick to rotating fan propellers. EDIT 1: Thank you for the great explanations. I am ...