Recent content by Brad Barker

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    Graduate School Application Results and Strategies - Fall 2008

    note to future applicants: stanford apparently doesn't care if you got a ****ing perfect score on the general gre. :/
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    Graduate School Application Results and Strategies - Fall 2008

    GPA: 4.0 GRE physics: 920 GRE General --Math: 800 --Verbal: 800 --Writing: 5.5 Research: Two REU's, plus research during senior year (no publications, though) Work: TA'd for a math class; worked as a physics tutor during freshman year (and now)
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    Graduate School Application Results and Strategies - Fall 2008

    today i heard from berkeley and stanford. got into berkeley. got rejected by stanford. :/ my status (physics student, here): accepted with fellowship: uiuc u chicago accepted with teaching assistantship: cornell ucsb berkeley rejected: stanford waiting on: MIT...
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    Graduate School Application Results and Strategies - Fall 2008

    going to grad school for condensed matter theory uc santa barbara stanford berkeley illinois-urbana/champaign chicago mit harvard cornell at the moment, only four of the eight schools have contacted me to let me know that my application is complete. :/ i might hear back from...
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    Schools Personal pre-university curriculum

    i think a solid introductory level text on calculus-based physics is sufficient. the halliday, resnick, and krane vol. 1 and 2 even have a bit of special relativity and "modern physics"-level quantum mechanics. when i was a whipper-snapper, i used another text, but it lacked the extra...
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    Which Textbook is Best for Self-Studying Condensed Matter Physics?

    coincidentally, i spent today perusing through omar's elementary solid state physics, and it looks to be pretty good.
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    What Are Your GRE Subject Scores and Experiences?

    physics 920 (91st percentile)
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    Why Are the Terms Squared After Substitution in Green's Theorem Integral?

    \frac{x^2}{a^2}+\frac{y^2}{b^2}=\frac{xy}{c^2} \smallskip \mbox{let} x=ar\cos\theta \mbox{and} y=ar\sin\theta \smallskip (r^2\cos^2\theta+r^2\sin^2\theta)^2=\frac{xy}{c^2} ...wait a minute, why does your first equation not have the terms squared, but then after the substitution, they are...
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    Why Are the Terms Squared After Substitution in Green's Theorem Integral?

    i just skimmed your work and noticed that you had dxdy = drd\theta . the correct relationship is dxdy = rdrd\theta .
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    Why Are the Terms Squared After Substitution in Green's Theorem Integral?

    image not working for me. i'd recommend putting in a little bit of time to learn what you need to about latex to be able to post your problem. knowing latex is important if you intend on publishing research papers, anyway.
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    What are the math prerequisites?

    if there is a course offered on general relativity for undergrads, it is likely an elective, whereas quantum mechanics is typically (universally?) a requirement for a physics degree. in my experience, i took linear algebra the semester after differential equations. fairly interchangeable.
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    Properties of Hermitian Operators: Show Real Expectation Value & Commutativity

    think of what the hermitian conjugate is for AB...
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    Proof that the parity operator is hermitian

    why would you want to undo the transformation? the "x" in the integral is a dummy variable, just as "y" is. let's start and end even further: <P\psi|\psi> = \int_{-\infty}^\infty<P\psi|x><x|\psi>dx = \int_{-\infty}^\infty(P\psi(x))^*\psi(x)dx = \int_{-\infty}^\infty\psi^*(-x)\psi(x)dx...
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    Proof that the parity operator is hermitian

    it's not a function of x or y! they're just a complete set of states. you can "remove" them entirely, in a sense, and go back to bra-ket notation, where you'll clearly see that we've solved the problem. if you'd like, you can let y --> x in that last integral. it doesn't matter. it's all...
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