Discussion Definition and 284 Threads

I'm looking for a book that approaches it from preferably a physics slant (in terms of invariance, conserved quantities, and the like) but every mechanics textbook I've looked at gives a poor description. They're heavy on the math but they lack explanation or discussion of the results.

Hi guys I'm new here. I've got a lot of spare time at the moment so i was thinking of delving into physics a bit more. There is this guy called Cristoph Schiller who's written a 6 volume work called Motion Mountain. I find it a delight to read because i mostly understand what he's saying, but...

This is more an applied physics question, but I was wondering what the space shuttle would look like if we designed it today. I've got some project goals in mind: -Minimize design and construction costs ----design should use existing and developed technologies to minimize cost ----design should...

Dear friends I M. Saravanan, currently working in MATLAB attempting to plot some solutions of the differential equations. When plotting I received a command "Warning: Matrix is singular to working precision" for the solution step in the M files. Since as a beginner this statement make me to...

I was thinking a bit about gravity. As is known, Physicists have yet been unable to unify the Theory of Relativity (describing gravity) and Quantum Theory (decribing the other three fundamental forces). As mass is a measure of a system's energy, the force of gravity (presumably carried by...

I've been interested in the topic of black holes for some time yet, there seems to be many areas that I, as well as, many others have no possible way of proving or keep try to keep new "ideas" quiet until later proven or experimented on. So, I'm interested in a discussion of "possibilities"...

Off-topic discussion from "Why talk about 1967 borders?" I apologise to Hurkyl in advance for not answering your question! Instead I’d like to address some points made by Mege. A couple of citations appear more than once, as I feel they demonstarte more than one point, and the same point...

Hi, I'm a graduating senior in high school in NY. I'm going to be attending a mostly liberal arts college in NH next year; but I will most likely major in one type of engineering. My engineering interests include AI, cloud computing, semiconductors, energy storage systems (ultracapacitors...

hello there, I have started to tackle the giant book Gravitation by MTW on my own. I would like to see how you people who are having fun in reading this masterpiece faring in solving the exercises. I have read some books on tensor analysis and differential geometry and spacetime geometry as a...

Discussion continued from this post on another thread... Bell's proof does not involve any notions of "particles" or "waves" whatsoever, it only involves observed experimental results combined with the idea that the theory generating them is local realistic. Again, do you agree or disagree...

This started in the MIT professor's thread. But this part is concentrated on Faradays and Lenz law in constant magnetic flux loop and transformer that is very interesting and not quite relate to the MIT professor discussion. I want to bring this out and continue discussion about the Faraday's...

I have had a thought that could bring singularities back into M theory. Each membrane in M theory is said to be of infinite size and the amount of Universe's is also infinite. By this saying, you can also state that everything inside each of those membranes is also of infinite size seeing as...

Homework Statement Hey guys been losing a lot of marks for my discussion on my prac reports, as i tend to talk too much irrelevant stuff like errors (which should be in error analysis) could someone please tell what i should include/talk about in a discussion? i know to talk about the...

Hi, I'm currently studying GR from Wald's book. The book is fine, but I want to know more details about the collapse of stars, e.g., more about white dwarfs, neutron stars, mass limits, the use of Fermi-Dirac statistics in this cases, etc. What book, paper or website would you recommend?. (I'm...

Seeing as the test day for the 2011 Pascal Contest was yesterday, let's discuss! My answers: B>E>C>B>A A>B>D>E>C E>D>A>C>A D>A>C>E>D D>C>B>A>C Now I was not sure about problems 20,24, and 25 If anyone remembers the wording of the problems, can you please post them? In fact, can anyone...

Does anyone know of any history forums run along the lines of pf?

I would like to start a discussion involving how sound works. I've read plenty of websites but none can satisfy the level of curiosity I have. To get started I would like to know what it means for low frequency to travel farther than a high frequency all sound waves travel the same speed? The...

Hi all, Since it has been sort of a tradition to open these kind of threads, i thought i might open this one so everyone can post things related to REU's. Like, which REU's you are applying to, and the like.Personally, I am still in the process of searching for potential REU's. So far, I have...

this is from chapter 4 of university physics of young and freedman q19 why can it hurt your foot more to kick a big rock than a small pebble? must the big rock hurt more? explain? but I can't see the answer at all by just applying Newtons law in the scenario of the small pebble mp is small...

Hi Guys and girls First have very little knowledge of this stuff, but watched a tv program today that made my head spin a little bit. The threads I have read on this forum make it spin a little more, so I'd like to just post my question and hope there is a simple answer. The program I...

So there is this work-energy problem online that I was discussing with a friend. We both concluded with different answers and I 99.99% sure that I am correct, but there is that 0.01% chance that my understanding of physics has been completely wrong over the years. The problem is simple: A...

Alright, am I the only one that hates discussing if something is "Possible"? In effect, you can say that anything is possible because you can never 100% prove that something is impossible. (I can't 100% gurantee that gravity won't turn off tomorrow, I just have no reason to believe it because...

How did you feel when you found out that there wasn't really a Santa Claus, if you ever believed there was?

I have always wondered the criteria behind choosing between SRAMs and DRAMs. I know a few of them- like SPEED, POWER, SPACE, etc. But how do we know which one has to be prioritized? In case of Space, DRAM wins, but loses in Speed of operation. Though DRAMs are less power consuming than SRAMs...

Please excuse me if I seem inexperienced (I am new to this forum), but lately I've been thinking a lot about a length contraction paradox called the Barn-Pole Paradox. The paradox: A pole and a barn are both at rest relative to each other. When both are at rest, the pole is slightly longer...

EDIT: We are looking for someone to clear things up for us! An engineer friend of mine and I are having a debate about heat vs cold. Basically I am saying you can't 'add cold' to a system you can only add or take away heat and for some reason he is disagreeing. Chat of Gchat/AIM ****...

I can probably argue against evolution without biblical references? Anyone wish to hear my argument?

all are open to those who like to brain storming like me in physics question...i'm a physics degree student...and you are please welcome and try and comment to me if any... 1. inside an just used oven the temperature is 200*c... you can put your hand into the oven without and injury you got...

I am a beginner with respect to MOSFETs and have just begun studying them at college 2 weeks back. What I am actually struggling with is the basic functional differences between MOSFETs and JFETs. Two of them are- dielectric and substrate, both of which are there in MOSFETs. However, I...

I've only taken an introduction to physics classes so excuse any ignorance on my part. Recently, I've been wondering why all we have figured out is an indirect way to harness the energy of heat. My reference is to nuclear power mostly; We use the enormous amounts of heat to create steam from...

As you might know, the 2010 Euclid Contest was officially taken yesterday. So let's discuss! I thought it wasnt too bad. #10 was hard though (the triangle one). Here was the question: For each positive integer n, let T(n) be the number of triangles with integer side lengths, positive area...

Ok, I've looked a bit into your Posts. The problem is, I suck at math (i.e. differential geometry). So please tell me if I got the basics right (your post #6): The Minkowski basis vetors are \partial_t,\partial_r,\partial_\theta,\partial_\phi, with length 1,1,r,r \, \sin(\theta)...

It should be noted MotoH started this thread. Posts were merged from other threads which inadvertantly put one of mine on top. Heck, front-wheel drive ruined much of it for me. What fun is driving without the occasional power slide? I was as comfortable driving a car sideways as forward...

Greetings, In Feynman's lectures - vol. 2 either chap 19, 21 or 23 - I think 23 (I'm at work and don't have the lectures here), Feynman shows in a capacitor that a changing E-Field induces a B-field, then he shows that the B-field induces a new E-Field (he calculates the E-field) and then...

Czes discussion re Compton wavelength and new Smolin paper These are posts from the bibliography thread (which has enough to do just listing the new papers, without discussing them :biggrin:)

Can someone tell me how long these computer internet forums have been in action on planet earth? When I turn on a light bulb...light waves are produced..are photons "created" or emitted by flowing electrons and if so what causes the electron to do so..or what is the mechanism "inside" the...

Hi everyone, I've just finished year 11 here in Australia and I've been reading some notes on abstract algebra just out of curiosity. I have had a little difficulty grasping the concepts, and I've read up on some linear algebra (up to the point of Euclidean n-space - haven't yet read about...

What differentiates the sound of a tree falling from the sound of a piano playing? What differentiates the sound of a piano (near-universally classified as music) from the sound of a rapper (still argument about naming that music)?

How did you feel when you found out that there was no Santa Claus (if you ever believed)?

As promised in the now closed CRU-hack thread, this is intended to show why I am convinced that the cause for global warming is overstated and that changes in use of fossil fuel and CO2 production will have little effect on climate. I will try and stick to the scientific method, no room for...

Is it a photon that gives rise to an electron ?? Photon , in presence of any external force that disrupts its magnetic and electric field balance in space where E/B!= c causes production of a pair particle -- electron and positron . I have done a lot work upon it .Want to know other's view...

A Discussion of "Existence". I have been reading these forums for many days and recently decided to make an account. I have read a vast array of topics ranging from Quantum Physics/Mechanics to Transcendentalism, to Buddhism and I have also learned of some new philosophies. I figure expanding...

Hi, I'm currently one of the organizers of a seminar for talented high school students in my home town and one my task for the next session is to give a brief talk on some interesting subject in (theoretical) physics, with a discussion afterwards, where the students will participate. It...

Discussion of 2012 prophesies has been closed, as per the general posting guidelines. https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=2269439#post2269439 This is about a commercial that I just saw on tv for the "Institute for Human Continuity", which claims to be "preparing us for the world...

anyone can help me about solar energy, discussion only.,tnx

The discussion of philosophical questions can be a difficult one, from delineating terms to trying to understand the other person's worldview and taking into account the fact that we are humans who possesses rather limited perception. There is much criticism of philosophy as a whole; I'd like...

I'm starting this thread to continue a tangential discussion of interpretations, specifically Bohmian vs Copenhagen from https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=324790". As a class of phenomena "Yes" of course. As an object "No", nor do I believe in the existence of "The Universe" as a...

I am sure a few people have a Quantum Design PPMS. Is anyone else here actively involved in building custom options, and writing custom software, or simply has a lot of experience with it. Quantum Design is (maybe naturally) cautious about giving out blueprints of the sample chamber and such...

Not too sure if this is the right place to post... any good optics discussion forum that one could go to? any recommendation? Thanks

This seemed appropriate material for this Forum, I wasn't sure what section. :-p http://www.bryanappleyard.com/blog/2008/04/teaching-maths.php