Evolution Definition and 735 Threads

  1. B

    3-10 points why you believe in the theory of evolution and big bang

    Can you give me 3-10 points why you believe in the theory of evolution and/or the big bang? this is independant of any other theories. I'd like it numbered. and just brief points, like a topic and brief explanation of why this makes you believe evolution and/or the big bang to be true. I'll...
  2. B

    Commutation of Hamiltonian and time evolution operator

    Can anyone explain how the time evolution operator commutes with the Hamiltonian of a system ( given that the the Hamiltonian does not depend explicitly on t ) ?
  3. D

    Webpage title: Does Real Quantum Randomness Play a Role in Evolution?

    I'm womdering if real quantum randomness is important for evolution to work. In a universe without randomness i.e. where the future is predetermined, the amount of information contained inside the universe would be constant. No matter how old it is, the information content of the universe would...
  4. C

    Time evolution and Feynman Integrals

    Homework Statement With the time evolution time operator, where there is time dependent hamiltonian, show the new form of the feynman propagator between two states. Consider the Weyl Integral. 2. Equations from \newcommand{\mean}[1]{{<\!\!{#1}\!\!>}}...
  5. Ryan_m_b

    Insights What is Evolution: A Beginner’s Guide

    Continue reading...
  6. J

    Does Evolution Theory Have Sufficient Experimental and Fossil Evidence?

    The theory is evolution is well established and maybe considered by some the cornerstone of biology but where are the experiments which prove it . We have never seen bacteria that turn into something else also where is the evidence for the theory in the fossil record ? Also I can't understand...
  7. T

    Has Humanity Achieved Spiritual Growth Over Millennia?

    Philosopher Olaf Stapledon wrote Starmaker and the First and Last Men; supposed to be the best of the best in science fiction or future history according to some authorities. The books cover a time span of a gazillion supereons in the evolution of life in the universe. Planets are born and...
  8. Y

    Exploring the Evolution of Human DNA

    I was reading articles regarding to the changing of human DNA and how our DNA seems to evolving a rapid rate. With this I wondered if the human DNA does evolve? and if so would DNA gain traits that we would now consider super human? Any info in this area would be appreciated.
  9. BWV

    The evolution of overconfidence

    Its well documented that people generally are overconfident of their abilities - a recent paper in Nature speculates how it became an adaptive trait: http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0909/0909.4043.pdf
  10. M

    Will evolution eradicate homosexuality?

    I am an amateur studying physics on my own accord purely to satisfy my own curiosity and new to the forum , so please be gentle if i am stating something blatantly obvious or that has been discussed already. I was not studying this topic but had discussions with someone about DNA and then...
  11. L

    Evolution & Mutation: Electrical Engineer Explores

    I am an electrical engineer. Just curious about evolution. I was watching a documentary about evolution. So evolution happens because of mutation. But what exactly trigger or starts mutation. The DNA or part of DNA which turns ON/OFF other DNA, what exactly is it called. Where can I read...
  12. P

    Need a reccomendation for a good video about evolution.

    My girlfriend is christian and completely denies the existence of evolution. She's always reading or watching anti-evolution books and movies, and doesn't seem to actually understand what the theory of evolution is about or claims. I, on the other hand, do accept evolution. She wants me to...
  13. A

    How Do You Determine the Time Evolution of a Wave Function Given \(\psi(x,0)\)?

    I'm getting bogged down in what is probably a very basic subject and it's holding me back. I'm not really sure how to determine the wave function \psi(x,t) given a function \psi(x,t=0); and since this is pretty much the under-pinning of every homework problem I've seen so far it's a huge issue...
  14. K

    Time evolution operator - Confusion

    Hi everyone. I am given a somewhat common potential well V(x)=0 for ¦x¦<a and infinite elsewhere. I am told that at t = 0 my particle is in a state represented by the wavefunction \psi(x,0)= A(\sin{(\frac{\pi x}{a})}+ \sqrt{2} \cos{(\frac{3 \pi x}{2 a})}) where A is a constant use for...
  15. H

    Could Extraterrestrial Intervention Explain Rapid Human Evolution?

    Ok so I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this thread but I figured Earth/evolution? If not I can always move it to the biology section. Anyway I was speaking to a friend today who claimed that there have been periods of advanced human evolution in which the human mind over a...
  16. Gliese123

    Why have the evolution compromised with the brain?

    As the thread: Why haven't the brain among different species developed in general to a size comparable to Homo Sapiens. And even though the brain among Neanderthal was considered to be bigger than Homo Sapiens, did the evolution considered that it was too "big" or too "clumsy" and the race died...
  17. A

    Evolution of our socio-economic system - what should scientists do about it?

    1 - 'Current socio-economic system is an artifact of (thus-far) intellectual development' -a fact of biological and anthropological sciences. 2 - Genetic imperative drives the life-form to 'live as long as possible as a life-form' -human in particular here -a same such fact of biological...
  18. Tungamirai

    Suicide & Evolution: Benefits for Animals

    Do other animals besides humans commit suicide and what is the evolutionary benefit(s) for a species that has members that commit suicide, basically what advantages does a suicidal species have over one that is not
  19. O

    Why do we assume unitary evolution?

    I think this is the right forum for this.. are there any physical reasons to assume the evolution of a quantum system is given by a group of unitaries rather than a semigroup of isometries (or, if you're in the Heisenberg picture, group of automorphisms rather than semigroup of endomorphisms)...
  20. T

    Exploring Lamarckian Evolution - Mike Olsen

    Yes we are all taught today that Lamarck and his crazy idea are hogwash, true I suppose, but his idea, that all animals are influenced by their environment in a designed way, opens up a simple idea. Lets take a hypothetical Bacterium that produces a compound that degrades penicillin, the...
  21. Y

    Could gravity affect human evolution?

    I am wondering if millions of years from now if the Earth and Moon became a true double planetary system, where one side of each body continually face each other, if it could have affects on the height of humans. If people living on the "lunar side" would be taller on average than people on the...
  22. D

    Woodpeckers Tongue and Evolution

    I'm a novice at science and I am quite ignorant about many scientific endeavors. I have become an evolutionist in the last 2 years but I frequent a Christian website that allows both christians and athiests to participate. Anyway, my problem is the man who owns this website also has a call in...
  23. L

    How Can 2D Artificial Evolution Systems Be Improved?

    Hi i am new to this forum, i hope i post this in the right thread. I am developing a 2D artificial evolution program and i am wondering what other people here think about the idear and maybe discuss this in depth. The system The system is a black box with x analog input signals. 10 of...
  24. A

    Evolution of Elementary particles?

    Hello, Maybe a strange question here (I'm not 100% current with the standard model), but does the standard model say anything about a change in the ratios of fermions as the universe expands? (I see Generations I, II & III listed)
  25. B

    What is the case against the theory of cosmic evolution?

    Hi all, I'm new here so please forgive me if this has been explained somewhere already. Lately I've been reading about cosmic evolution and I find it hard to understand how it cannot be a generally accepted theory within the scientific community. At least according to wikipedia it seems...
  26. P

    ERCC2, Mutation, and Evolution?

    hey guys, sorry for coming here with these potentially stupid topics, but tbo, this is the closest thing I have to biologists or biology enthusiasts on the subject. My question came from creationist who does not accept evolution...He says that evolution is false because mutations are repaired...
  27. P

    Evolution: New Species and Old Species?

    OK so we all know that when (for example) a population of mammals evolves into something else, whatever it evolves into it will still be a mammal, but it won't be able to produce viable offspring... This is well understood for taxonomic classes (like mammals) but what about species? What if...
  28. Y

    Can magnetic pole shifts drive evolution in humans?

    I had a thought last week about all the speices that have lived on this planet. I think that something besides natural selection might be at work. After many more hours of thought, I came up with this. Every so offten the magnetic poles switch, and for a wile there's no magnetic shild to protect...
  29. N

    Confused about entropy trumping evolution on universal scale

    As the title says, I am confused - very confused. I know that the 2nd law of thermo means that the universe is increasingly disordered on a universal scale, even though there has been an apparent increase in order since the "Big Bang." Does that mean entropy isn't exactly synonymous with a...
  30. ChristinaJ

    Mathematica Mathematica: Plot time evolution data in 3D

    Hi all, I have 3 lists of data where lists; A={numbers}, B={numbers} and C={{y,m,d,h,m,s},{...}} (i.e. C is in the form DateList). I have no problem plotting using DateListPlot for the 2D case (C VS A) but can't seem to plot all 3 sets of data together. Mathematica seems not to be able...
  31. B

    Evolution of Configurational Entropy

    My background is not physics. This might be simple for many of you. I wonder if the following is possible. I wish to build a simulation, where ‘particles’ move about on the monitor according to Brownian Motion. Initially, at t = 1, particles are confined to square arrangement, but are then...
  32. M

    Has the Modern World Put an End to Human Evolution?

    Me and a friend were talking in the pub the other day about evolution, and how some people hold the view that, because of modern engineering and medicine, human evolution by the process of natural selection has stopped. What do you think? Has evolution stopped? If not, how are "good" or "bad"...
  33. B

    Did Sensory Detection, Perception, and Response Evolve Simultaneously?

    OK...I'm not sure how well I'll word this or if it's a coherent idea biologically but I'll throw it out there anyway... Regarding the evolution of senses - let's take the detection of sour tastes as an example. I know little neuroscience but I know that there's the involvement of H+ ions as the...
  34. D

    Time Evolution of Schrodinger's Equation

    Hello! Here is my question: Consider a particle of mass m, whose initial state has wavefunction \psi(x), in an infinite potential box of width a. Show that the evolution under the Schrodinger equation will restore the initial state (possibly with a phase factor) after time...
  35. A

    The Ongoing Debate: Evolution vs. Religion

    I argue with a ton of people that I know, and most of them ask me why I believe in evolution. I always ask them to look at the evidence some day and to stop being arrogant, but they deny the fact, because it gets in the way of God. What can I say to them? I get the usual response, Adolf...
  36. U

    Evolution of Hypnosis: What's the Natural Explanation?

    Hello everybody, I was wondering how on Earth the hypnosis evolved as an ability in humans. I see how this can be helpful to a non-omnipotent designer who is willing to violate the free will, so this argument cannot be used by most theists as evidence that omnipotent being created us. But...
  37. L

    Natural selection and parallel evolution

    I am just learning about the theory of Evolution and wonder how parallel evolution of unrelated species during the same period of time is explained.
  38. K

    The role of diet in human evolution

    I have kept the title of this thread quite general because, depending on how it goes, there are a few different points that I’d like to discuss, and that’s really the general theme, as it were. I know the format preferred on this website is for those of us with less expertise to ask questions of...
  39. B

    Simulating Galactic Evolution in a Game

    I am writing a browser based multiplayer game. The basic idea is that you are the leader of a very advanced spacefaring civilization. Your objective is to gather resources and develop your technology further. You gather resources by mining stars. The more stars you control, the more resources...
  40. J

    Time evolution of a diffusion equation

    Hallo everyone, I have a 1-D diffusion equation with decay as dA/dt = d2A/dx2-L*A with initial condition C(x,0)=C0=exp(-ax) and boundary condition= -Ddc/dx = I0 where L= decay constant A = certain concentration the concentration A is not in equilibrium. We can solve the above...
  41. T

    Evolution of temperature (adiabatic procsses)

    Hello, I'm trying to derive a differential equation as requested in the attached exercise (thermal1.jpg). I'm not quite sure my solution is the right answer (my_solution1.jpg). How do I get rid of the energy dU ? Thnks Ted
  42. W

    What Has Understanding Evolution

    done for mankind? I was in a debate recently and the subject came up of just what good is understanding evolution? Many will make the claim it is the single greatest scientific achievement of mankind but what has it done to further mankind or science? Yea it's pretty cool and answers lots of...
  43. A. Neumaier

    Time evolution in quantum field theories

    It requires more than that: a well-defined, selfadjoint Hamiltonian. See http://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/9907069 for a gentle introduction and counterexamples. An in depth discussion is given in Vol. 1 of the math physics treatise by Reed and Simon, or Vol.3 of the math physics treatise by...
  44. qspeechc

    Is Creationism Still Being Taught in Public Schools?

    Find the (short) article http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/science/08creationism.html?ref=education".
  45. B

    Help w/ Checking Answers to Evolution Homework Questions

    Can you please help me with checking my answers to Evolution homework? It's in a take-home quiz format. I always second guess myself with these types of questions. Thank you in advance! 1) Over time, alleles that are most beneficial to individual fitness will increase in frequency in the...
  46. D

    Time Evolution of Gaussian Wave Packet in Anisotropic Harmonic Oscillator

    Homework Statement So this kinda incorporates my last questions. I have a particle described by a Gaussian wave packet. And it moves in 2D anisotropic h.o potential with commensurate frequencies (1:2). I've solved the x part (I was messing around with the nasty integral, which in the end...
  47. J

    About the Schrodinger equation, the Hamiltonian, time evolution?

    Forgive me if this is a poorly asked question but I am not yet completely fluent in quantum mechanics and was just looking at the energy eigenvalue equation H|\Psi\rangle = i\hbar \frac{\partial}{\partial t}|\Psi\rangle = E|\Psi\rangle . We've got the Hamiltonian operator H acting on the state...
  48. P

    Evolution: Half tall, half small?

    A little while back I heard a scientist speak of a division that will happen as humans evolve further. He said that humans would either be about 10 foot tall or around 2 foot tall. So around half the population would be realllllllly really tall and the other half rather small. I believe...
  49. R

    What Happens After a Star Fuses Hydrogen in Its Core?

    I am writing a program which simulates the evolution of stars for my A2 computing project, and need help understanding what happens after the hydrogen in the core has been fused, because I have read a lot of contradictory information. My understanding is: For a low mass star (~1 SM)...
  50. C

    Why does the Hamiltonian generate time evolution?

    The first part of QFT seems to be almost entirely mathematical formalism, without really requiring a whole lot of physical insight to proceed. For instance, we can start with the free-field scalar Lagrangian, minimize it using the Euler-Lagrange equation to arrive at the Klein-Gordon equation...
Back
Top