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This is a physics question that appeared in the movie 'The Internship.' If you are reduced to the size of a coin and put into a blender what would you do? Apparently the answer was that with a reduced size you could jump higher and jump out the blender. I would think that if you are smaller your strength will also be...
For an inductor, the electromotive force comes from Faraday's law, as I understand it. The governing equation includes the number of turns, the magnetic flux (field and area), and a time differential. $$ \text{emf} = n \frac{ d \phi }{ dt } = n \frac{ d ( B A) }{ dt } $$ The idea is that $B$ changes, because that come...
$$F = M \Big|_{A(T^2) \to 0}$$ The above equation is the duality equation between F-theory and M-Theory on a vanishing 2-torus. What's the explanation for this equation? Is there anything similar to this equation with M-theory and type IIB theory, and how can ones explain it?
There are 3 generations of fermions in the standard model. I know that there is a theorem that states, that only complete generations are allowed. This means that there have to be quarks with three colors. With this, if we sum over all leptons and quarks in a generation the overall charge is zero. Why is it assumed tha...
There are 4 requirements for baryogenesis to happen: A process that violates baryon number conservation The universe has to be out of equilibrium P has to be violated CP has to be violated Why do we need the CP violation and why do we need P violation?
What kind of material would be best to block an IR camera? Would Silicon work? (e.g the Silicon typically used in iPhone cases) Rather than covering the object/subject, I'm interested in fully blocking the actual camera, so it is unable to receive any IR information. Thanks!
I just read about a team of physicists at the University of Darmstadt, Germany, that managed to completely slow down a beam of light that traveled through an opaque crystal (article here). How is it possible for a beam of light come to a complete stop? In the article they mentioned that they fired a laser at the crysta...
I was reading a webpage on neutron stars, and it mentioned that a neutron star's gravitational mass is about 20% lower than its baryonic mass due to gravitational redshift. I understand the basics of what the terms mean, but I do not see why gravitational redshifting would cause the gravitational mass to be reduced.
This question is about the Hamiltonian for more than one particle (non-relativistic). Griffiths (Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 2e) seems to imply that it is $\displaystyle H=-\frac{\hbar^2}{2}\left(\sum_{n=1}^N\frac{1}{m_n}\nabla_{\mathbf{r}_n}^2\right)+V(\mathbf{r}_1,\dots,\mathbf{r}_N,t)$, but wikipedia isn't so...
Let's make the question easier by considering two-level atoms(with spin states, i.e. spin up $|\uparrow\rangle$ and spin down $|\downarrow\rangle$). An article I recently read claims that atoms do not have dipole moments when they are in energy eigenstates (i.e. when you put it into a magnetic field in z direction). I ...
A research article says that, "The conical shape improves the dielectric rigidity", but how I am not able to understand.
I was just trying to calculate the electrical conductivity for a Fermi-Dirac distribution and a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, and I ended up with the same result: $$\sigma=\frac{ne^{2}\tau}{m}$$ My question is, how come this is? Ending up with the same result even though it is different distributions?
I was told that in physics (and in chemistry as well) there are processes that may be described by a differential equation of the form $$ y' = ky^2. $$ That is, the variation of a variable depends from the number of pairs of the elements. I understand the mathematical meaning of that equation, but I cannot conceive of...
As far as I have understood, the mass $m$ of a fermion causes a coupling of the both chiralities $\psi_L$ and $\psi_R$. This coupling would induce an oscillation of the chirality within a time scale determined by $\frac 1 m$. Furthermore, it is known that the weak interaction only couples to the left-handed particles, ...
For generators of the Lorentz group we have the following algebra: $$ [\hat {R}_{i}, \hat {R}_{j} ] = -\varepsilon_{ijk}\hat {R}_{k}, \quad [\hat {R}_{i}, \hat {L}_{j} ] = -\varepsilon_{ijk}\hat {L}_{k}, \quad [\hat {L}_{i}, \hat {L}_{j} ] = \varepsilon_{ijk}\hat {R}_{k}. $$ For the splitting of algebra, we can introd...
Can anyone explain to me the meaning of this picture? I Know that the argument is Quantum Physics and that cat is the Schrödinger's cat, but I don't know how to interpret the bra–ket notation and also the two numerical coefficients...
Can matter, energy, or information travel from one universe to another in a Level I Multiverse? That is, is there any communication between Hubble volumes in an eternal inflation-induced multiverse?
I am trying to familiarize myself with the ideas of second quantization. However, the literature that I can find online seems only to outline the tools of this formalism of quantum mechanics. There is very little description about the origin of this formalism and how it connects to other problems in physics. For ex...
When looking at the bifurcation diagram of a chaotic system, one observes "windows of order", namely short intervals where the system briefly leaves its chaotic state and then rapidly returns to chaos. These intervals are quite periodical. Does anyone have a good explanation for this? Thanks!
In field theory, the energy momentum defined as the functional derivative wrt the metric $$T_{\mu\nu}=\frac{2}{\sqrt{-g}}\frac{\delta S}{\delta g^{\mu\nu}}$$ (up to a sign depending on conventions) For a theory in flat space, this has the advantage to give you directly an improved energy momentum tensor as the metric ...
I'm sorry if this question has been answered a squillion times; I need someone with smarts to explain it to me. If an event happens at a distance of 10 light years away, and we observe it here, at a specific time, did it actually happen 10 years ago from that time of first observation? I guess my question is, are photo...
I am trying to figure out how to parametrize the path of a body under the influence of gravity from another body, but I am stuck. I have looked at the Wikipedia page on Kepler orbits, but it is rather hard to follow, and doesn't seem to ever actually give the final formula for the position WRT time. (It should somewher...
I've a question regarding the Hodge star operator. I'm completely new to the notion of exterior derivatives and wedge products. I had to teach it to myself over the past couple of days, so I hope my question isn't trivial. I've found the following formulas on the internet, which seem to match the definitions of the two...
I have laser beam path that fires two pulses of light in a gaussian distribution, so the intensity graph over time is two identical gaussians separated by a distance $t_0$. In other words, a gaussian convolved with two $\delta$ functions equidistant from the origin. When I take the Fourier transform of this, I get a gr...
It seems if I reverse velocities then things begin orbiting backwards, at least in classical mechanics. From here: Every orbit and trajectory outside atmospheres is in principle reversible, i.e., in the space-time function the time is reversed. The velocities are reversed and the accelerations are the same, including ...
I was reading about thermal and non-thermal radiation and I was wondering if visible light can be emitted from a non-thermal source?
I am interested in the main difference between transitions from electric fields from Conductive to Conductive/ Dielectric to Dielectric and Dielectric/Conductive media. What are the boundary conditions that an Electric field and a potential has to fulfill? I think I only know it for dielectric to dielectric media, whe...
Why do most metals (iron, tin, aluminum, lead, zinc, tungsten, nickel, etc.) appear silver or gray? What makes copper and gold have different colors? What atomic characteristics determine the color?
(skip disclaimer) I have a question about writing raising and lowering operators in the Schroedinger basis in the section of vertex operator in Polchinski's string theory vol 1 p.68. It is given $$ \alpha_n = - \frac{in}{(2 \alpha')^{1/2}} X_{-n} - i ( \frac{ \alpha'}{2} )^{1/2} \frac{ \partial}{\partial X_n}, \,\,\,\...
In this video a single flick of a finger tips 116000 dominos. Domino video I understand the work that needs to be done to move 116000 pieces (at least 100 kilos) of plastic is greater then that expended by flick of a finger. How does the energy conservation law apply here?
Does the concept of strong coupling mean anything in a classical setting? If strong coupling means just an inability to apply perturbative methods to the Hamiltonian, then obviously yes, we can provide examples of "classical" systems that cannot be handled perturbatively, such as granular materials, dusty plasmas, etc....
If an orifice is placed inside a pipe with a smaller diameter than the rest of the pipe, fluid will follow a curved path in order to enter the orifice, and then expand. I was wondering at what distance would the diameter of the flow reach its minimum (the vena contracta) and at what distance after that would the diame...
Can somebody explain to me, when the following two equations (equations 2.48 and 2.50 in this document) are applicable and what $\Phi_s$ and $\Phi$ actually are? The thing is, I want to find general equations that determine the field produced by conducting spherical sphere in an external field and was wondering whether...
Can physical states be treated as information (strings over some alphabet)? If (1) is true, isn't this a trivial conclusion that the universe can be simulated by a Turing machine or a cellular automaton or any other computational model, given that differential equations that determine the evolution of physical states ...
I have a basic enough question. Assume that one has one of those ideal see saws, i.e. the teeter-totter pivots on point source, the balance is of uniform mass etc. Now assume that one places an object of mass m on one end. This will force the balance to tilt on side. Now suppose that one adds another mass of m on the o...
Is there any interpretation of what each of the components of the Ricci tensor corresponds to? For example, for the stress-energy tensor, $T_{00}$ corresponds to energy density, $T_{0i}$ is the momentum flux in the $i$ direction, etc. Is there something similar for the Ricci tensor?
When we polarize a light, do we get electric vibrations, magnetic vibrations or the mixture of both. If both, then how can both electric and magnetic vibrations occur in single plane because polarization actually means to confine these vibrations into one plane?
We can always see modulated charge density, the Friedel Oscillation, around an probe charge due to other electrons' response. Can this be called charge density wave (I believe not)? If not, what is the fundamental difference between this situation and charge density wave? Is Peierls Transition a precondition to charge ...
Does the warp drive allow to travel between universes? Even in a level 2 multiverse?
If a pair of capacitors were connected up in series, and an identical pair was connected in parallel which pair would be more dangerous to handle if connected to the same voltage source?
Is there a way to derive second equation from the first one? I mean is there a connection between those two uncertainty relations? \begin{align} \Delta x \Delta p &\geq \frac{\hbar}{2}\\ \Delta E \Delta t &\geq \frac{\hbar}{2} \end{align}
What advantage might there be in using two identical capacitors in parallel connected in series with another identical parallel pair, rather than using a single capacitor?
Supposing there is an iron nail that is left to rust, if we compare the time it takes to rust with that of a magnetized iron nail, will there be any difference in the time of corrosion (assuming other environmental factors are constant)?
If we placed p-type and n-type semiconductors close enough to be touching (see fig. 1), would this arrangement work as a diode? Please explain. Fig. 1 - Connecting p-type and n-type semiconductors
The problem statement: Measurement detects a position of a proton with accuracy of $\pm10pm$. How much is the position uncertainty $1s$ later? Assume the speed of a proton $v\ll c$. What i understand: I know that in general it holds that: \begin{align} \Delta x \Delta p \geq \frac{\hbar}{2} \end{align} This mea...
This question has come about because of my discussion with Steve B in the link below. Related: Why is glass much more transparent than water? For conductors, I can clearly see how resistivity $\rho\,\,(=1/\sigma)$ can depend on frequency from Ohm’s law, $\mathbf{J}=\sigma\mathbf{E}$. So if the E-field is an electromag...
Here's a question in a paper based on refraction of light. I can't seem to solve it for some reason. A man looks down at a fish length of 20 cm. His eye is 2m above the surface of the water ($\mu = 4/3$) an the fish is 2m below the surface shown in the figure. The ratio of angular width $\Delta\theta_1$ of the fish as...
I am thinking if it's possible to detect Cherenkov radiation in water caused by dissolved natural potassium (KOH) in it without using photo-multipliers. The main question is does 1 beta particle generate 1 photon, or multiple? Specifically, how many photons of visible light should I expect from 1.33 MeV electron in wa...
I know that this won't work but I'm asking Why? Becuase as far as the vehicle POV - there is a force which drags him to the right. Isnt $F=ma$ applies here? What is that im missing?
Volcanic eruptions are some of the most powerful calamities on Earth. When they erupt, volcanoes release a large amount of mass in the air just like a jet does. Does such a blast have any effect on the course of the Earth? Does it change the Earth's orbit in any way? If not, then how big a blast is needed to do it? Wou...
I have a question in the section 3.2 "The Polyakov path integral" in Polchinski's string theory p. 83. Given $$ \chi=\frac{1}{4 \pi} \int_M d^2 \sigma g^{1/2} R + \frac{1}{2 \pi} \int_{\partial M} ds \,\, k \,\,\,\, (3.2.3b) $$ It is said We have noted $\chi$ is locally a total derivative in two dimensions and th...
When I was young I read one book in which is written that you get more tan on the morning than on evening even light angle from Sun to Earth is the same. Don't remember exact reason, I think because ultraviolet is more absorbed on the evening because air is more humid or something like this. Is it true?
When we study the interaction of the electromagnetic radiation with free electrons we can find two different approaches in the literature: for low frequency (RF, light...) a classical view is used and it is said that the electrons oscillates due to the electric field of the wave, but for high frequency radiation (X-ray...
If we could irradiate a metal or a plasma with a coherent beam of hard X-rays, would the main effect be an ordered oscillation of the electrons like with a classical EM wave, or "compton-style" collisions?
This question is in response to question B1 in the problems/solutions located at http://aapt.org/physicsteam/2013/upload/E3-1-7-solutions.pdf. In question B1, there is a wind-powered vehicle that can travel both against the wind and with the wind, and in both cases potentially may go faster than the wind itself. The fo...
While editing the tag wiki for ads-cft, I initially wrote something on the lines of: The AdS/CFT correspondence is a special case of the holographic principle. It states that a gravitating theory in Anti-de-Sitter (AdS) space is exactly equivalent to the gauge theory/Conformal Field Theory (CFT) on its boundary. But ...
The forces acting in this charming video of a hamster running don't make sense to me so I thought I'd bring it here. It's very unusual indeed, but hopeful it spreads a little bit of entertaining critical thought. Consider that the hamster is running in the wheel and that he is causing the wheel to spin in a clockwise ...
In my physics class it was suggested that ancient armies had a rough understanding of the idea of a resonant frequency and so they "broke step" when crossing bridges so as to avoid a very high $Q$. I am not particularly clear on how this high $Q$ corresponds to increased force downward on the bridge (which is what I as...
I wanted to know the minimum height of mirror required to be able to view a complete image of a person. I considered the following setup: $HF$ is the person in question. $H$ denotes the head, $F$ the feet, and $E$, the eyes. For the person to see his complete image, a ray each from $H$ and $F$ has to come and reflect ...
Newton's equation for gravity calculates gravitational force between two bodies $$F= GMm/r^2$$ My question is: How does the force change as these two bodies accelerate together through the universe and approach light speed? You might argue there should be no change because both bodies are accelerating together and stay...
What is the sign of the work done on the system and by the system? My chemistry book says when work is done on the system, it is positive. When work is done by the system, it is negative. My physics book says the opposite. It says that when work is done on the system, it is negative. When work is done by the system, it...
Almost all optical phenomenon can be explained considering a fluctuating electric field. Is there any optical phenomenon which can't be explained without considering two fluctuating fields, electric and magnetic?
Apparently, in Los Alamos scientists handled sub critical masses of plutonium (for example the demon core) with little or no protection. Richard Feynman and others mentioned that plutonium spheres were warm to the touch, which seems to imply that they actually touched them. Slotin (one of the victims of the demon core)...
Let´s consider a curved universe that is very small, say 20 square meters and not expanding. If you stood at the middle of this tiny universe and looked forward, you wouldn´t see any walls, since it is curved. But you would see your back. If you looked left you would see your right side of your body, and when looking...
When forced to explain to someone why one could either set up a general Lagrangian & then incorporate constraints using Lagrange multipliers, as opposed to just setting up a Lagrangian with generalized coordinate built in from the start I found I couldn't do it - I don't actually know why one can use either method othe...
I am considering the perturbative renormalization of a simple non-phenomenological QFT with Lagrangian ${\cal L}$ (for scalar fields with multiple generations). I understand that I can renormalize it, if I can, by choosing a (finite) number of counterterms ${\cal L}_{ct}$ whose divergent parts are chosen such that they...
I am a River Pilot and drive ships for a living. These ships are very large and range up to 160,000 Metric Tons. I am trying to figure out how to calculate the distance to stopping. I have a basic understanding of the physics 101 equations, but I think this is a little more complicated. The reason is because it takes l...
At constant acceleration in special relativity, the time differs for a stationary observer and the astronaut. see the following article for an in-depth explanation: Relativistic Rocket However, when large distances are involved, due to the expansion of the universe, the article says that general relativity equations wi...
Why does a larger mass in a pendulum have the same period as a lighter mass? i know it has something to do with gravity and length but how can this be explained in depth? like for example the galileo's experiment where both masses were nearly the same but the lighter mass was slower (air resistance)
Can you help me to do this: Two frames of references $S$ and $S'$ have a common origin $O$ and $S'$ rotates with constant angular velocity $\omega$ with respect to $S$. A square hoop $ABCD$ is made of fine smooth wire and has side length $2a$. The hoop is horizontal and rotating with constant angular speed $\omega$ a...
There is perfect parallelepipedal bar made of transparent crystal with cubic lattice floating in vacuum. Faces of parallelepiped are parallel to lattice axis. There is image, forming checkerboard pattern, each cell alternating between two distinct colors. This image is projected in perpendicular on the one face of crys...
I have watched Walter Lewin's lecture(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QVbE_tU2sA) which was about the rainbows. But there is still a question bothering me. I understood the first part of the lecture which he talked about axial symmetry that holds in the drop of water because the light beam is coming from a preferred ...
When I was on holidays, I was told a story about how someone passing under a palmtree and almost got a coconut fall on his head. Given that these palmtrees where about $20m$ high, we wondered at what speed the coconut was when it reached the ground... I took a pen and a paper and tried to remember what I knew about vel...
If mirrors work by deflecting photons by free electrons in surface layer of mirror, so it could be possible to take a glass pane and provide it with extra free electrons by giving it massive static electricity charge, so it will become reflective — but it seems it would not. Why?
Please excuse the crude drawings The question is, if I burn the thread t, how will the reading in the spring balance(S) change? Ie, increase, decrease, or remain the same? My approach: When we burn the thread, the objects will move, but the tension should increase a bit. ( I can't explain this, I only get this intuiti...
This is a question on the nitty-gritty bits of general relativity. Would anybody mind teaching me how to work these indices? Definitions: Throughout the following, repeated indices are to be summed over. Hodge dual of a p-form $X$: $$(*X)_{a_1...a_{n-p}}\equiv \frac{1}{p!}\epsilon_{a_1...a_{n-p}b_1...b_p}X^{b_1...b_p}$...
I have attempted this question in so many different ways but I am getting nowhere. Could someone point me in the correct direction so I can work it out myself? Here is the question: An object $K$ is shot upwards with a velocity $v_i$, after $t$ seconds it is 50 metres high and time $2t$ seconds it is 80 metres high. ...
Consider a roller of diameter $0.82\ \mathrm m$ which is to be raised up a step measuring $0.32\ \mathrm m$. Find the minimum force required to do so. The roller weighs $500\ \mathrm N$. The roller could be considered as a point mass $F$, and its body could be considered a lever with $F_\text{applied}$ acting at $G$ ...
Generally Quantum mechanics divides a system what is to be observed and an observer. This is generally taken to be some human being. But why restrict it to such? Why not a particle? Is there a good physical reason or philosophical reason for this to dismissed as not sustainable? I'm thinking here specifically of the Co...
Given that $\pi$ is the irrational number that occurs with a perfect circle, and perfection is very difficult to achieve through chance or nature, I think that most circles are really ovals, and imperfect. Are there any proven naturally occurring objects, behaviors, movements, that have been so highly correlated wit...
A particle of mass $m$ is moving on the inner side of smooth circular cylinder of radius $R$ whose $Oz$-axis is vertical and directed downwards. The particle started its motion from the $x$-axis with velocity $V$ which was parallel to $y$-axis. Which forces are acting on the particle during its motion? How can I show...
I want to animate the changing orbits of planets when they enter a mean motion resonance. Using a 2:1 resonance, I want to show a low-mass inner planet and a low-mass outer planet being tugged by a Jupiter-mass planet in the middle. I know the orbits of both become increasingly elliptical but I don't know in which dire...
I have tried to solve this problem by adding the sum of the displacements during acceleration, constant velocity and deceleration, but it does not work out. Question: A car accelerates from rest to $20~\text{m/s}$ in $12$ seconds ($a =5/3~\text{ms}^{-2}$), it travels at $20~\text{m/s}$ for $40$ seconds, then retarda...
I'm beginning learn quantum mechanics. As I understand, state is a map $\phi$ from $L^2(\mathbb R)$ such that $|\phi|^2$ describes probability density of a particle's position. By integrating $|\phi|^2$ we can get the probability of a particle's position in a subset of $\mathbb R$. My question is. Why we need $\phi$? W...
Looking at the classical Doppler effect there is one generalized equation, and they have a velocity of source, and observer. In the relativistic version, there is only one velocity taken into account, and, in my book, there are two separate equations for receding and approaching sources. These two formulas are leadi...
I've read material claiming it comes from the Higgs boson fails while others claim it is from the tensions of quarks in the gluon field... I am only a 15 year old kid in high school so please "dumb it down"
Is there any material, (kind of like a one way mirror), which allows an Electric Field to pass through from one direction, but not from the other? Thanks. Edit: As Ali has pointed out, one way mirrors do not actually block light from filtering through. Maybe I could reformulate it by asking. Is there anyway to polarize...
To quantize a theory, Klein gordon field for example, commutation relations are stablished. Or anticommuting ones in the fermionic case. If I have the Wess.Zumino model or the free model: $$S~=~\int\Phi\Phi^\dagger d^8z.$$ Can I obtain in some way relations (commutation or anticommutation, I don't know) like this: $$[\...
My friend recently bought a high-powerd pocket laser pen (from China). It is green, and reflects off most surfaces as green. On some orange surfaces, it reflects orange instead. That is to say, we see an orange dot instead of a green one. It seems to be certain hard, shiny plastics (for example a Kryptonite bike lock)....
As a supplement to this question, as to whether particles can be observers, let us suppose that the answer is yes. One could suppose a setup where particle $A$ is observing particle $B$, but what is to stop us switching viewpoints around here and supposing particle $B$ is observing particle $A$? I find this is an intri...
In the compression stroke of a petrol engine, the mixture is compressed by the upward movement of the piston. From where does the piston get energy to compress the mixture? Similarly, in the exhaust stroke, the piston again moves upward to expel the gases. Where does the piston get energy from?
It seems that Planck's constant was made from fitting a curve for blackbody radiation, is it just experimental-further more his assumption that energy comes in quanta seems to have been a guess. Why would energy come in quanta? Wikipedia says that he didn't think about it much, but I don't know why harmonic oscillators...
This question came up when I was talking about the atmosphere. Someone had mistakenly claimed that as temperature increases, the density of the atmosphere should increase as well. I reasoned from the ideal gas law that, as temperature ($T$) increases, then so should $V$, leading to lower density. But I realized that pr...
My book says : The fact that electromagnetic radiation of energy carried momentum was known from classical theory and from the experiments of Nichols and Hull in 1903. This relation is also consistent with the relativistic expression for a particle with zero rest energy.) Does anyone know what those experiments were, a...
If the gravitational field couples with matter fields, such as a charged scalar field, I know the partition function of the grand canonical ensemble naturally relates to the path-integral expression of gravitational field, how about the canonical ensemble? Besides the Gibbons-Hawking term, do we need to consider anothe...
I was reading that Bohr assumed electrons in orbit simply did not radiate, and my professor told me that the actual case is that electrons are clouds of probability. Even so, aren't they still moving around? I mean, if they are particles, then they should be moving around-even if you can't pinpoint them. Then, shouldn'...
Specifically, what happens to those small intertwined hidden dimensions? Do those expand too?
I am having a hard time picturing waves, the image that comes to mind is a bobbing device submerged in still water which generates pulses in all directions (similarly in air). Then how can a wave be two dimensional? The classic image of an electromagnetic wave is a 3D wave function, x-y represent the electrical compone...
I remember reading this passage in the "Feynman Lectures", where Dr. Feynman describes an experiment in which a theoretical metal rod of length equal to the distance between Mars and Earth is arranged between mars and earth. Then the "rod handler" on earth gives the rod a push upwards. So the question posed is, will th...
Is there any physics behind covariance and contravariance (up and down) of indices of tensors?