Questions tagged [soft-question]
Questions that ask about some aspect of physics research or study which doesn't involve the actual physics. In general, soft questions can be answered without using physical reasoning.
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"Natural frequency" seems to be a poorly defined concept [closed]
Per wikipedia: natural frequency, also known as eigenfrequency, is the frequency at which a system tends to oscillate in the absence of any driving force.
Let's take a wine glass as an example.
The ...
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I am a 10th grader and aspire to become like you guys [closed]
People say my idols are Messi and Ronaldo(no hate) but I dont know why I am attracted to Physics and Math.It always amazes me, this is just a dumb question which i suppose is gonna be closed by ...
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Are there any laws of physics that are always true?
I understand that "laws of physics" is a bit of a misleading term since all they really are is just us applying a logical statement about observed physical phenomena in a way that allows us ...
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Does a bottle flip depend on the bottle's water content?
Me and my friend were doing the bottle flip challenge when after a few unsuccessful attempts, my friend told me to add more water to increase the chances of a successful flip.
So my question is
Does ...
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Why was the Higgs boson included in the standard model, but not supersymmetry?
This is a soft question so may not be suitable for this site.
The LHC famously discovered the Higgs boson several years ago, but also seems to have ruled out several hoped for versions of ...
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What is the purpose of making notes in a Physics degree? [closed]
I have a general question regarding the importance of taking/making notes in Physics degree.
My issue is this: I feel taking/making notes is taking up way too much of my time, and I feel like I’d be ...
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Is the unit $m^2$ for area size ambiguous? [closed]
In normal case, we use $m^2$ to represent the size of an area - the product of two distance whose corresponding quantities are perpendicular. But it can also be simply the square of one distance, such ...
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Simple everyday examples to represent the concept of Quasiparticles - Bubble example
I was sawing a Youtube Video about Quasiparticles (for this topic it doesn't matter which one), but the video host present examples that were very far for being familiar to a wide audience.
In my ...
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Can we estimate or quantify Experimental uncertainty from computational uncertainty? [closed]
Causes of Experimental uncertainty can range from limited accuracy of the equipment to variation of environmental conditions. Is there a way to address these experimental uncertainty through model of ...
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Can we say the momentum of a system is always equal to the momentum of the components of the system? [closed]
For ex if a ball of mass m undergoes an oscillatory motion in a bowl of mass M placed on planet where all surfaces are smooth( no friction ), while considering the part of the motion of the ball from ...
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On Bohr's response to EPR
If I understand correctly, the EPR paper (1935) points out that quantum mechanics is incomplete theory if it describes individual particles and measurements. This is true by the mathematical formalism....
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Why intensive quantities are plotted on the vertical and extensive on the horizontal axis?
That way is plotted PV and TS diagrams in thermodynamics as well as stress versus strain. Why not the other way?
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Is there a physical interpretation of why Christoffel symbols do not transform like a tensor? [duplicate]
I understand mathematically why they don’t, but I was hoping someone could provide a physical interpretation to this. Is there a physical consequence of this fact?
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Are expressions like "x axis," "x dimension," "x direction," "x plane," "x boundary," etc. all hyphenated? [closed]
I'm not a native speaker of English. I'm currently writing a journal article and want to make sure I follow all conventions properly. Are expressions like "x axis," "x dimension," &...
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Quantum Theory Texts Advocating Specific Interpretations [duplicate]
I'm looking for comprehensive textbooks or monographs on quantum mechanics that inherently advocate specific interpretations. I've found a few over the course of time such as Ballentine's or Dürr's ...
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Confusion about near-identical terms: gravity, gravitation, gravitational force - are they all the same?
As my other questions also point out, I study this for fun. I am in no university yet.
as the title (hopefully summarizes), my question is this:
is these words(or terms,) the same?
gravity
...
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Is there a formal definition of machine? [closed]
In physics, especially in mechanics, textbooks talk of machines. But I have never actually come upon a formal definition of machines. Is there in some text a formal, rigorous definition of when a ...
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Why is particle creation and annihilation not observed on a macro scale?
I am new to QFT and the idea of particle creation/annihilation so this will likely be a soft question. I have read that due to special relativity, particles come in and out of existence (and some ...
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How can I read physics textbooks very fast? [open] [closed]
Is there a method of speed reading that works for physics textbooks? Like in general how can you read physics very fast?
Thanks!
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I finished a Quantum Physics course. What is next? [closed]
I have finished the Quantum Mechanics: Beginner to Expert course on Udemy. After finishing it, I felt like I'm an expert at QM and went to PSE to answer someone's question. It's pretty obvious what ...
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How particles are seperated to prove the existence of quantum entanglement?
I understand that quantum entanglement has been proven but I could not find on the internet how they have separated the required particles far away. Can anyone describe it a bit or send me a link to ...
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Confused on the types of solutions to Einstein field equations in General Relativity
Context
While reading about the types of solutions to The Einstein Field Equations in General Relativity, I came across the following article.
Where they explain that Karl Schwarzschild provided the ...
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Why are differential equations used a lot in physics?
I have heard from my physics teacher that differential equations are very useful in physics. In what parts of physics exactly is it useful? Why are they generally useful?
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How do physicists "discover" those equations that describe a physical phenomenon? [closed]
I have been looking for the answer to that question for a long time, I have spoken with people who according to them "know" about physics, the answers they always give me is "they do it ...
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What processes are used to enumerate stable operating regimes and testable hypotheses?
It seems that in physics there are two key processes,
Phenomenology: Constructing a qualitative description of the phenomenology through experiment, observation, and explanation
Synthesizing: Taking ...
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How to teach yourself physics systematically？ [closed]
I'm just a university student and I am not physics majors, but I am interested in physics. I plan to self-taught physics. However I don't know how to teach yourself physics systematically. I want to ...
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What is the origin of the name "degeneracy" pressure and "degenerate" Fermi gas?
What is the origin of the name "degeneracy" pressure and "degenerate" Fermi gas? I was trying to find the first paper that used the term "degenerate/degeneracy" to ...
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Are all Astronomers also technically physicists? [closed]
There is a website many schools will use to show their students job descriptions to give them inspiration and know what they wish to be when they grow up, show them some options, you know?
Well, I was ...
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What is the difference whether a space is used between number and unit for temperature? [closed]
When talking about temperature, or temperature change, -32.5 ℃ (with space), and -32.5℃ (no space) are two common expressions. Are they the same?
If there is no space is used, there is a problem about ...
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How is the angle of a ship wake measured?
I was wondering how is the angle of a ship wake measured?
I don't really undesrtand how the following images determine the angle of the ship wakes, as there isn't a defined edge.
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Why the primitive unit cell is called primitive?
while reading solid state physics I came about the concept of primitive and non-primitive unit cells and I was wondering about why it is called primitive.
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Are mathematical physics and theoretical physics the same thing at highest levels? [duplicate]
To my understanding Mathematical physics is about how one could find a rigorous basis to understand physics/ study the mathematics used in physics. However, high level theoretical modern physics like ...
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What is the difference between "derive" and "predict"? [closed]
I'm working on attaining a better understanding of physics through independent study following S&Z 12E, and my book has asked me to derive a quantity from given laws and principles. I was able to ...
user306661
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What quantum mechanical concepts have been used in the "soft" sciences?
At the smallest/simplest level (quantum mechanics), our models of physics becomes less deterministic and more probabilistic. This is also (very) generally what occurs in the most complex sciences (...
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Probability in the Multiverse Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics [duplicate]
The Multiverse Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics interprets a quantum decision as different universes, each with each outcome. I was wondering how probability plays into this. For example, if we ...
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Couldn't understand an example used in explaining fundamental and derived quantities
In my book under topic of fundamental and derived quantities, there is an example which is supposed to explain this concept and it goes like this,
As a simple example, if a unit of length is defined, ...
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What is this dynamics book that has questions and it's solutions?
I found these questions online and was amazed by how organized this book was so it would be really helpful to know it's name
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When or why to use the $\equiv$ symbol in place of the $=$ symbol?
In literature, I read the following:
A typical relationship*, often appearing in the literature, is:
$$|-\nabla(\bar p+\rho g z)|\equiv \rho g J=q(\mu w+\rho Bq^m)$$
The nomenclature does not define ...
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Uncertainty principle in deformation quantization
Deformation quantization procedure is a well-known way to quantize a classical phase space (at least formally for Poisson manifolds which is known as formal deformation quantization). Although it is a ...
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How to make sure that I got the solution to a problem correctly?
I'm a physicst autodidact and I've always relied on solution manuals up till now. There are however a lot of great books with no solution manuals that I'd like to study. What should I do? How do I ...
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Even at an elementary level, can "force" be defined as "cause of motion"?
In Leçons de physique (Lessons On Physics) (auth. Perez, De Boeck editor) can be found this informal definition of force: "forces are what cause motion".
Is this definition accurate?
What I ...
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If a measurement has 5% error, can we say it has 95% accuracy?
Most often when, in a numerical problem, it is demanded that we calculate the accuracy of the final result, we write the final result in terms of the error.
So I want to know if, in a measurement, ...
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Collection of Roger Penrose's scientific drawings [closed]
Being fascinated by the scientific illustrations by Roger Penrose, I am searching for a more comprehensive collection of them. Preferably with concise captions explaining the context and principle of ...
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Do analytical results always "trump" numerical ones? [closed]
Suppose I have a system that can be described by some differential equation(s). If I can manage to write down a proper analytical solution to it, but which I can't quite replicate numerically, whether ...
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Utility of Topological Data Analysis in Theoretical Physics
I audited a lecture on Topological Data Analysis, and I found it really interesting, primarily because of the connection to algebraic topology. I asked the professor if there are any connections to (...
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What branches of electromagnetics (or its interdisciplinary applications) do not require knowledge of electronics for research?
I am extremely interested in electromagnetics and would like to pursue research and later on some job in the field. However, I never found any appeal in electronics, especially since it was introduced ...
user320191
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How can one generally prevent silly mistakes in very long physics calculations? [closed]
I am a student working on certain open-ended research problems in quantum systems that mostly have long calculations and deal with a large number of terms. I tend to make a lot of silly mistakes ...
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Are there any best websites for physics problems to enhance problem solving skills? [duplicate]
I actually prepare for International physics olymiad. Can anyone please tell me what are the best websites for physics problems (like codeforces, hackerrank, codechef)?
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How were old-style Feynman diagrams drawn before software? [closed]
I wasn't sure where to put this question as it's not directly about physics, but before software to draw them was around how were Feynman diagrams drawn in papers? For example ones that look like,
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What research in theoretical physics could a high school student do? [closed]
I already know what I want to conduct my research on (topic: magnetic monopoles), the problem is just that I don't know what to investigate or analyze. What are some research methods you would ...
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