Questions tagged [approximations]
The approximations tag has no usage guidance.
429
questions
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Why do we don't get exact answers to our experiment but rather an approx value to it?
Why do we face a problem of not getting to the exact answer but to an approx to it, mostly everything we come through in practical physics is a approx but not the exact one.
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How to find the terms of Post-Newtonian approximation
I am studying the Damour paper on the Post-Minkowskian approximation to the 2 bodies problem in General Relativity (paper) but can't really understand the explanation of the previous state of the art, ...
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44 views
High Temperature Expansions and Cumulants
In this paper the authors perform a high-temperature expansion of the correlation functions for a Heisenberg model on a lattice. Starting from
$$\left<\mathbf{S}_i\cdot\mathbf{S}_j\right>_\beta ...
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29 views
What is the mathematical approximation for uniform gravitational field in Newtonian Mechanics? [duplicate]
When measuring the local gravitational field using a simple pendulum, one of the core assumptions is that the gravitational field is homogeneous. But the theory itself (Classical/Newtonian Mechanics) ...
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2answers
61 views
What does the term $\mathcal O(\epsilon^2)$ mean?
In the highest upvoted answer to Where does the $i$ come from in the Schrödinger equation?
the author writes the following equation:
$$ U^\dagger U=(\mathbb I+\epsilon^* A^\dagger)(\mathbb I+\...
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24 views
What is the static exchange approximation?
In this paper, on the 4th page (and throughout), they talk about studying electron-helium scattering in the "static-exchange approximation". I have scoured the literature and have not been able to ...
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2answers
694 views
Approximating an expression for a potential
In a problem which I was doing, I came across an expression for the potential $V$ of a system as follows $$V = k\left(\frac{1}{l - x} + \frac{1}{l + x}\right)\tag{1}\label{1}$$ where $k$ is a constant,...
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1answer
57 views
AC currents for self-inductance of a wire
I've been currently reading some stuff on self-inductance of a wire. There are different regimes where different approximations are used. For the AC currents the notes state that an approximation can ...
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2answers
115 views
Are the infinitesimal lengths in integrals bounded by the Planck length? [closed]
When we integrate something say work, $\int F\cdot ds $ then we will get work but what exactly is $ds$? how much is ds? Is it the Planck length? Are we just pretending there exists some infinitesimals ...
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1answer
60 views
Why is the Earth not an inertial frame of reference?
From many sources I have found the explanation that the Earth is not an inertial frame of reference because it rotates around its axis.
However, nobody mentions the rotation about the Sun.
What I ...
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2answers
36 views
Why is the velocity in the horizontal direction constant for 2D projectile motion?
For 2D projectile motion, why is the velocity in the horizontal direction constant?
I learned that we neglect air resistance, but why?
And isn't there horizontal acceleration at the beginning when ...
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0answers
21 views
Semiclassical limit $S \to\infty$ in spin model
In many literature, the limit $S \to \infty$ is considered as a semiclassical limit. My question is that when this approximation is valid? Since paticles, say electrons, have the fixed spin number $S=...
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5answers
126 views
Which type of conductors don't follow Ohm's law? [closed]
Which type of conductors don't follow Ohm's law?
I know that semiconductors and superconductors don't follow them, but why?
And what about ideal conductors. What are they? Do they follow ohm's law? ...
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3answers
70 views
Electric field generated by a small object
I've just begun to study electrostatics and I've read the coulomb law, it describes the electric field generated by a point charge as characterized by a spherical shape. I think it is due to the fact ...
2
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1answer
119 views
Schwarzschild Black Holes
Page $190$ of “Tensors, Relativity, and Cosmology”:
Consider a particle falling radially into a black hole with a radial velocity $u^1=dr/ds$. As the particle is falling radially, we have $u^2=u^3=...
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0answers
15 views
Validity of Random Phase Approximation in 2D/3D semimetals
In, for instance, this paper and this one the authors look at many-body effects in two- and three-dimensional semimetals, which have a low-energy quasiparticle dispersion relation of the form $\...
3
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2answers
135 views
Why cube roots or in general $(2n-1)$th roots are rarely seen in equations in physics?
I rarely saw any equation in physics which involved cube roots or odd roots.Even while solving problems I rarely saw any odd root or cube root.
So why nature prefers even powers of physical ...
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0answers
32 views
Hartree-Fock approximation derivation
Some context:
I'm having a hard time deriving the results of the Hartree-Fock approximation. Let $H$ have the form
$$H = \sum_{i=1}^{n}\left[\frac{p_{i}^{2}}{2 m}+U\left(\vec{r}_{i}\right)\right]+\...
3
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1answer
81 views
problem with Sudden Approximation in quantum mechanics
If the Hamiltonian of a system changes abruptly (over a very short time interval)
from one form to another, we would expect the wave function not to change much, yet its expansion in terms of the ...
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1answer
24 views
Calculating Total energy of 2D Debye monoatomic solid
I am trying to find the total energy of a mono-atomic 2D Debye solid.
I started with the density of states:
$$D(\omega)=\frac{A\omega}{\pi c^2} $$
where A is the area, $\omega$ the frequency and c ...
2
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0answers
21 views
How does approximations to assumptions lead to approximations to solutions?
I was reading Physics SE 228313. It talks about using Born-von Karman condition to model metal lattices.
Is there any mathematical justification that approximations to physical condition would give ...
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0answers
12 views
Paraxial approximation - time varying
I want to reproduce the results of a paper I am reading.
In the paper, authors use paraxial approximation. My question is: in the potential V, I can put a time dependence of space? Or the paraxial ...
2
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4answers
105 views
Approximation of multiplicity when Ideal gas low density is applied $\frac{M !}{(M-N)!} \approx M^{N}$
Our lecturer today mentioned how a piston's head being at equal pressure maximised the multiplicity of states.
He mentioned the following:
If I have a fixed number of particles $N_A$ on left and $...
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1answer
46 views
How to ascertain that the Rayleigh-Ritz variational method gives the exact value of the ground state energy?
So the Rayleigh-Ritz variational method can be used to calculate the ground state energy of a quantum system. If $\phi(x)$ is a suitable (square integrable) and normalised function of the coordinates ...
0
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1answer
27 views
When is the approximation of neglecting the surface energy most useful during estimating the total energy of a spherical system? [closed]
The bulk energy of a spherical system of radius R is proportional to its volume and the surface energy is proportional to its area. The surface energy per unit area, S, and bulk energy per unit volume,...
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1answer
192 views
Second order relativistic corrections to Pauli equation from Dirac equation
I'm trying to derive the full and correct Hamiltonian for spin$\frac{1}{2}$ particles from Dirac equation up to second order in $v/c$. For a potential and magnetic field constant in time.
In ...
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0answers
41 views
Lorentz-like equation from Geodesic equation
In Hobson's General Relativity, it explains the following (p.173)
Consider the limit of a weak gravitational field in a coordinate system in which $g _ { \mu \nu } = \eta _ { \mu \nu } + h _ { \mu \...
2
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1answer
86 views
Why does quantum mechanics become unnecessary at sufficiently high temperatures?
In my statistical mechanics intro class, we are taught that at sufficiently high temperatures, the quantum treatment of things becomes unnecessary. Why is this? Can this be shown using certain ...
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1answer
180 views
First-Order Perturbation of Energy Eigenfunction
I have a homework questions where I'm struggling to understand the methodology to use. We derive first the energy functional for the energy eigenfunction equation (this is fine, I used some vector ...
3
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0answers
58 views
Why can infinite planes be approximated as Gaussian surfaces?
A little background: I'm an undergraduate studying Electrodynamics, currently in Chapter 8 of Griffiths.
A question I came across (8.4 part a for those curious) asks for a calculation of the force ...
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1answer
68 views
Why is the law of Hooke valid only for small displacements?
What changes when displacement exceeds a certain limit?
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1answer
24 views
Positive and negative powers of small parameter in perturbation problem
I'd like to perturbatively handle an eigenvalue problem similar to this:
$$
\lambda f = (\hat{H} + (1/\epsilon^2) \hat{V} + \epsilon {W}) f,
$$
where $f$ is a function, $\lambda$ is an eigenvalue, $\...
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1answer
40 views
Perturbation theory for molecules, dipole approximation, chromophore
I am interesting in chromophore group and dipole approximation.
For example, i have a molecule (acetone or any other ketone/enol) which is belongs to some symmetry group. Because of the symmetry ...
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0answers
61 views
Does uncertainty principle truly represent the “lower bound” of the information we can obtained from a pair of noncommunicable operator?
Background I:
Suppose the commonly used non commuting operator $\hat p$ and $\hat x$.
The uncertainty principle told us that $\sigma_p\sigma_x\geq \frac{\hbar}{2}$.
In standard quantum mechanic ...
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133 views
Deriving the Pauli-Schrödinger equation from the Dirac equation
Since the Schrödinger Pauli equation describes a non-relativistic spin ½ particle. This equation must be an approximation of the Dirac equation in an electromagnetic field. I was trying to derive this ...
2
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1answer
106 views
Changing Summation to Integral
This is the text from Reif Statistical mechanics. In the screenshot he changes the summation to integral(Eq. 1.5.17) by saying that they are approximately continuous values. However, I don't see how. ...
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3answers
100 views
Inertial and non-inertial reference frames
My book states that:
A reference frame attached to earth is not inertial because it is
revolving around the sun and it is rotating about its own axis.
Don't we need a specified observer's frame ...
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0answers
114 views
Assumptions and limitations for ideal gas
Assumption: In the assumption for ideal gas law, it is stated:"The time it takes to collide is negligible compared with the time between collisions." For, this assumption, can i just say there is only ...
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1answer
139 views
Non-relativistic limit of Hamiltonian for a free particle in general relativity
The Hamiltonian for a particle moving in a gravitational field can be taken as
$$\mathcal{H} = \frac12 \sum_{\mu,\nu=0}^3g^{\mu\nu}(x)p_\mu p_\nu\tag{1}$$
as long as the parametrization is affine. ...
0
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1answer
41 views
Do pulleys have no effect on atwood machine?
I was given the following example for an atwood machine:
We should calculate the accelaration of the masses.
The given solution to this problem was the same as like there is just one pulley: $$a=\...
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2answers
95 views
Physical example of line charge
Electric field due to an infinite line charge, sheet of charge, point charge, etc are popular problems solved in most text on Gauss's law of electromagnetism.
My question: does an (exact or ...
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2answers
28 views
How do you calculate Reynolds and Mach's numbers before solving the Navier-Stokes equations?
Apologies in advance if the question is trivial. I am accustomed to electromagnetics but an amateur on fluid dynamics.
My understanding is that the Navier-Stokes equations are solved to determined ...
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1answer
64 views
Small oscillations in the given potential
The task is to find the period of small oscillations in the potential
$$U=U_0\tan^2{\Big(\frac{x^2}{a^2}\Big)}.$$
I started with finding the stable equilibrium points:
$\frac{dU}{dx}=0$
$2U_{0}\...
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2answers
73 views
Thick vs thin lens
What is the criteria to know whether a lens is thin or thick ? Suppose we have a lens of r1= 10 mm , r2= -10 mm and thickness is 5 mm. So, with this information what can we say about the lens whether ...
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0answers
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Perturbation to the flat space metric
from the geodesic equation for non-relativistic case where $$v_i\ll c$$
$$\frac{dx^i}{dt}\ll1,{\rm for }\ c =1$$
$$\frac{dx^i}{d\tau}\ll\frac{dt}{d\tau}$$using this the geodesic equation for proper ...
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1answer
137 views
Coulomb's Law Question
The presentation of Coulomb's Law in various books occasionally has a note that the test charge, q2, must be small enough that it doesn"t alter the field of the first charge, q1. The same limitation ...
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QM limit of QFT in Schwartz [duplicate]
In Matthew Schwartz's QFT text, he derives the Schrodinger Equation in the low-energy limit. I got lost on one of the steps.
First he mentions that
$$ \Psi (x) = <x| \Psi>,\tag{2.83}$$
...
0
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1answer
71 views
How to reach $U = mgh$ Using Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation? [duplicate]
today i was curious about the potential energy, so, i started studying the Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation which its equation is \begin{eqnarray}
U= -\frac{GMm}{r}.\end{eqnarray} Well, since i ...
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3answers
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Hooke's full unapproximated law
It is known that the Hooke's law relating the restoring force of a spring to the distance of retraction from the equilibrium position, is only an approximation.
That is, the equation $F=-kx$ is only ...
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3answers
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Why is a particle non-relativistic when its kinetic energy is small compared to its rest energy?
For example, nucleons in nucleus are in motion with kinetic energies of 10 MeV. Their rest energies are about 1000 MeV. Kinetic energy of nucleons is small compared to rest energy. They are hence ...
