All Questions

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Liquid Water in “mid-ice” on Europa. Mechanism?

Recently I read this entry by Dr. Phil Plait (a.k.a. The Bad Astronomer). He is talking about a lake of water contained within the ice layer of Europa. the lake is completely embedded in the ice ...
1k views

Is PHD in Theoretical Physics(Quantum Mechanics) on my own possible? [closed]

Do you think it is possible to earn a PHD degree in Theoretical Physics on your own? I have a M. Sc. in Applied Computer Science but I really want to go in the direction of Physics. Is there a way one ...
221 views

What sets the resolution on analog film?

When taking a picture with old fashioned film what sets the resolution of the picture? Is it the wavelength, or the chemical makeup of the film?
902 views

Problems that Lagranges equations of the 1st kind can solve whereas the 2nd kind can't?

Can anyone give examples of mechanics problems which can be solved by Lagrange equations of the first kind, but not the second kind?
516 views

Finding work done by rotational force?

A disk with a rotational inertia of 5.0 kg·m2 and a radius of 0.25 m rotates on a fixed axis perpendicular to the disk and through its center. A force of 2.0 N is applied tangentially to the ...
458 views

Finding stopping time when only given initial angular velocity and an expression for angular acceleration?

Question: A wheel starts is spinning at $27\text{ rad/s}$ but is slowing with an angular acceleration that has a magnitude given by $\alpha(t) = (3.0\;\mathrm{rad/s^4})t^2$. It stops in a time ...
437 views

Differential Equation in Spherical Harmonics Derivation

I've been reviewing derivations of the spherical harmonics in quantum mechanics; mostly as review but also to make sure I understand where the concepts arise from. However, every derivation I've ...
902 views

Rigorous proof of Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization

Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization provides an approximate recipe for recovering the spectrum of a quantum integrable system. Is there a mathematically rigorous explanation why this recipe works? In ...
111 views

what compactifications of the Poincare group have been studied?

as we know the Poincare group is non-compact. Poincare invariance have been observed in velocities and energies up to $10^{20}$ eV in cosmic rays. The other day i was thinking in how $SU(2)$ ...
805 views

Is quantum mechanics intrinsically dualistic?

In just about every interpretation of quantum mechanics, there appears to be some form of dualism. Is this inevitable or not? In the orthodox Copenhagen interpretation by Bohr and Heisenberg, the ...
3k views

How do we know Dark Matter isn't simply Neutrinos?

What evidence is there that dark matter isn't one of the known types of neutrinos? If it were, how would this be measurable?
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Is stopping something work?

If somebody pushes against a mass moving with $3 \frac{m}{s}$ to slow it down to $2 \frac{m}{s}$, he will drain the moving system of kinetic energy. Does he do work then or does he consume work? My ...
601 views

Why is geometry mathematics and not physics? [closed]

This has always bothered me: it would seem that the concept of Euclidean space and real numbers themselves arose out of necessity for describing the physical universe that we live in. Mathematics, on ...
472 views

Why the pion does not get mass under Spontaneus breaking of chiral symmetry, but the quarks do?

Some sources state that when the mass of a quark goes to zero, it allows for Spontaneous Breaking of Chiral Symmetry and gets a constituent mass of about $200\, \mathrm{MeV}$. Other sources state ...
136 views

Expectation values of interacting fields

I was motivated to ask this question by the equality claimed in equation 10.3.3 of Weinberg's volume 1 of QFT books. My interpretation of that, If $O_s$ is a quantum field of spin $s$, $\psi_s$ is ...
218 views

Bloch oscillations - Scattering to other bands

In the free electron approximation, a Bloch state $|k\rangle$ is the linear superposition of free plane wave states $\sum_G C_G(k) |k+G\rangle$, where $G$ are the conjugate lattice. Since the ...
6k views

What happens to a fully charged battery, when you continue to charge it?

If I leave my cell-phone charging the whole night, it will be fully charged after a while. What happens with the battery and the excess energy I add? Also, I noticed my charger emitting a different ...
52 views

Which arguments for $m_u \approx 0$ are still in the market?

The RPP note on quarks masses has traditionally carried, and it is still there, the comment that It is particularly important to determine the quark mass ratio mu/md, since there is no strong CP ...
19k views

Can magnetic fields be redirected and focused at one point?

I know that magnetic fields can be redirected, but... given a situation where you have static magnetic field over a large area, and you want to quickly change the magnetic field strength. Is it ...
179 views

What are the implications of the speed of light broken? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What would be the effects on theoretical physics if neutrinos go faster than light? I don't know if it's been asked before, but I couldn't find a thread about it. I ...
59 views

Derivation of Eq. 7.12 in the review paper of Kraus

I'm reading "Lectures on black holes and the $AdS_3/CFT_2$ correspondence" by Kraus. http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0609074 I don't know how one can obtain Eq.7.12. My stupid question is how to obtain ...
213 views

Do people confuse all-order perturbation theory with non-perturbative physics in QFT?

I've heard about people talking about the 1/N expansion as a mothod of nonperturbative QCD. This seems strange. In the 1/N expansion all you have is Feynman diagrams, which are by definition ...
1k views

Can Plasma Ignite?

This question on Scifi.se: Why does warp plasma burn green? mentions a fictional type of plasma called 'Warp Plasma' that is capable of igniting and when it does it sprays plasma flames/gas out of ...
170 views

Spin Echo Experiment [closed]

I'm doing an spin echo experiment for different dilutions of Glycerol as an undergraduate physics lab experiment. At the end of my experiment I will need to extend it and do some initiatives! I have a ...
73 views

Does frequentism require exponentially many trials in some cases?

Frequentism is the philosophy that probabilities are statistical in the sense that they give the limiting frequency ratios of outcomes as the number of trials is large enough. For tiny probabilities ...
215 views

What is the status of gravitational wave searches? [closed]

What is the status of gravitational wave searches such as LIGO?
164 views

CHSH violation and entanglement of quantum states

How is the violation of the usual CHSH inequality by a quantum state related to the entanglement of that quantum state? Say we know that exist Hermitian and unitary operators $A_{0}$, $A_{1}$, ...
194 views

Does a water cooker element have to be 100C to get water to cook?

I understand that a water heater element is basically just adding energy to the mass of water in the container. So does that mean that the heater element only has to keep adding energy while the water ...
3k views

Why does the “Troll-Mobile” not work?

See image: If I'm not totally dumb the car would move when the right magnet would not be attached to the car, at same distance of the booth magnets. So why would it not move?
168 views

Neutrino path bent by gravity? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Neutrino unaffected by gravity Other probably closely related questions here: Link Neutrinos unaffected by gravity Link Superluminal Neutrinos My question is subtly ...
416 views

Suppose, we know the length of the shadow of an object at some known time. Can we use the this information to find position of the object (the longitude )?
2k views

Consequences of the new theorem in QM?

It seems there is a new theorem that changes the rules of the game in the interpretational debate on QM: http://www.nature.com/news/quantum-theorem-shakes-foundations-1.9392 Does this only leave ...
5k views

How does a mobile phone vibrate without any external force?

How does a mobile phone vibrate without any external force? By Newton's law, any body can't move without any external force
446 views

What is the rationale behind representing a state function by a complex valued function in QM?

What is the rationale behind representing a state function of an electron with a complex valued function $\Psi$. If only the probabilistic argument was required then why not represent it with just a ...
452 views

What is the physical origin of scintillation?

The twinkling of stars, or scintillation, occurs because the optical path length of the atmosphere varies in both space and time due to turbulence. This means that when the wavefront from a distant ...
155 views

Unconstrained action in Yang-Mills theory

Is there any gauge in which Yang-Mills theory (4d, non-SUSY) can be written as a local action containing only the propagating modes?
638 views

Do gravitational waves slow down as they pass through matter?

I've heard that gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, and have some parallels to electromagnetic waves. EM waves slow down as they pass through matter (speed of light in glass is slower ...
342 views

Is spherical coordinates enough to calculate the exact position of a point with rotations included?

With "Geographic coordinate system" we only get the location, no rotations or anything. Translated into latitude and longitude. Where with "Spherical coordinate system", we should be able to get the ...
172 views

Violation of Lorentz symmetry on cosmological distances

This question is about the domain of validity of Lorentz symmetry. As far as I know, general relativity is a generalization of special relativity. Does that mean that Lorentz symmetry is violated on ...
2k views

Escape velocity of a rocket standing on Ganymede (Moon of Jupiter)

I want to calculate the escape velocity of a rocket, standing on the surface of Ganymede (moon of Jupiter) and trying to leave Ganymede. My thinking was, the kinetic energy $E_{\text{KIN}}$ must be ...
333 views

“finite” QFTs and short-distance singularities and vanishing beta functions

I am not sure that I can frame this question coherently enough - it springs from various things in QFT that I have recently been thinking and reading about. May be these thoughts are mis-directed but ...
1k views

What is the meaning of pressure of a gas

I understand the meaning of pressure on a surface to be force acting per unit area. But when it comes to understanding pressure in the context of fluids in motion or at rest I think I am having some ...
906 views

Does a nonzero Poynting vector mean that there is propagation of energy?

I don't know how this "paradox" can be solved. I'm given the following system: A permanent magnet with a magnetic field given by ($\hat{a}$ are unit vectors in the x and y directions) ...
67 views

What's the potential of the LHC's heavy ion experiment?

RHIC has been the dominant player in heavy ion physics, producing tantalizing evidence in support of the entropy/viscocity formula from AdS/CFT. What's the potential of the LHC's Pb ion collsions? ...
2k views

Experimental test of the non-statisticality theorem?

Context: The paper On the reality of the quantum state (Nature Physics 8, 475–478 (2012) or arXiv:1111.3328) shows under suitable assumptions that the quantum state cannot be interpreted as a ...
3k views

superconductor levitating in earth's magnetic field? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Can superconducting magnets fly (or repel the earth's core)? I've seen superconductors levitating on magnets. But is it possible for superconductors to levitate on ...
136 views

Decoherence inside black holes [closed]

I have a question about decoherence. Assume there is a macroscopic black hole floating around and you have some macroscopic object with you with a huge number of internal degrees of freedom. ...
187 views

Inertial Mass of a scalar field

Does it make sense to talk of the inertial mass of a scalar field? By the equivalence principle, it must be equal to its gravitational mass. We know that the scalar field contributes towards the ...
Given a metric $$ds^{2}~=~ g_{a,b}dx^{a}dx^{b}.$$ Here Einstein's summation convention is assumed for $a$ and $b$. Then given the Laplacian over that metric, can then we find a metric \$ ...