Important Definition and 506 Threads

I'm going through a whole undergrad quantum book (Townsend) by myself. It has a chapter on path integral QM. He said in the intro that it can be skipped, but I was wondering if knowledge of this subject is immediately helpful when starting graduate level quantum. I start grad school in the...

Hello, I am a very introverted person and usually enjoy one or two close friends. My whole school life I perhaps had just 2 or 3 close friends. In college ofcouse I lost in touch of them and was all lonely. But it didn't mind me. I was busy in my studies and enjoying it. This month I had my...

Hey everyone, new member here, and I was hoping I could get some insight into this question. I'm a physics major in a community college right now, with plans to transfer to a university and double major in physics and math, and eventually go into theoretical physics. I'd really like to minor...

I'm kind of rushing through first year physics cause I am doing it self paced, but I am realizing now that as an engineering i relaly need to internalize and fully understand these lessons. I don't have much time to go over everything again, but what would yo usay the most important...

In Six Easy Pieces, Richard Feynman said If such a cataclysm actually occurred, and you could preserve just one piece of scientific knowledge for a future race, what would it be?

Though it may seem like it, this certainly isn't a homework question so I hope I don't offend anyone with it's placement. This is a simple drawing of a hydraulic mechanism that me and a friend are building. There is much debate about where we need to improve so we are leaving it up to you, the...

I want to know the reason why the thermal neutrons with energy of 0.0253eV is so important. As far as I know, a neutron with an energy of 0.0253 eV is used as reference to measure nuclear cross sections such as absorption, fission, scattering, etc. And I want to know the details and more...

Homework Statement Hi, I was curious, why it is considered so important to solve the problems yourself. There are a number of puzzles you will get stuck with and trying to brew over them is in my opinion much less productive, then analyzing the solution and getting to know new concepts...

As I enter college I'm faced with the choice of transferring the credits I've earned in high school taking AP exams. While I'm positive that I'll be taking credit for certain classes that I won't progress on with, like electives or courses that aren't related to my major, I'm not sure what I'll...

I'm currently writing a research paper on QG and its applications to black holes. Before I start on QG, i feel as though I should provide an intro to GR and QFT but I also shouldn't devote too many pages to them. So, where I'm at right now: I've discussed diffeomorphish invarance, discussed and...

Hey Guys, I am supposed to take Fluid Mechanics in Fall 2013. The course has lots of prerequisites and I have taken them all. One of the prerequisites is Dynamics. In Dynamics I was taught how to analyze objects in motion using Newton's Second Law of motion, Work and Energy method and...

I'm currently a physics major with a year left, and deciding whether to switch into mathematical physics, mathematics or applied mathematics. I'm definitely switching into one of them, as I can meet the requirements for either in my last year and all of them align better with my interests...

I was wondering how much graduate admissions look at your research experience. I have worked with two projects with a professor, and I am going to be working with him on another project this summer. Two of these things were not "new" physics, but they were either new for our department, or were...

Smolin has a new book (Time Reborn) coming out this month. Amazon has a page on it, with advance reviews. He gave a talk on the main ideas at Perimeter in February. I was impressed by the depth and cogency. It is a 60 minute talk followed by a lengthy discussion with Rob Myers, Laurent Freidel...

Of the twenty candidates, please choose the one(s) you think will prove most significant for future research in Loop-and-allied quantum gravity. Since the poll is multiple choice, it's possible to vote for several papers. Abstract summaries follow in the next post...

Specifically, What are some important things to learn about: memory management, and about; exploring operating systems. Thank you for your time!

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I've been reading through some of the literature on solutions of the Ising model, but I can't help but notice it doesn't provide that good a model for actual ferromagnetic systems. It seems that these models get a lot of attention and I'm just curious as to why? Also, why is an exact solution to...

I'm trying to decide between 2 courses, Electrical and Electronic Engineering or Software and Electronic Engineering. I haven't got the complete class lists for both to compare but going by the bits I've got and the descriptions, the software and electronics course is basically the same as...

I'm considering doing a philosophy physics double major at the expense of taking a few upper division physics electives or math/engineering classes like Plasma Physics, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Intro to Solid State Physics, fluid mechanics, statistics, etc. Will this hurt my chances of...

I'm waiting to hear back from grad schools, and I'm worried my writitng score on the GRE might keep me out of some schools... here is a breakdown of my scores: Verbal: 160 Quant: 159 Writing: 3.5 Physics Subject: 830 GPA: 3.92 I'm not sure why my writing score sucked so bad, but most...

This may sound like a dumb question, I heard that to understand Quantum Maths, I have to know Linear Algebra, Calculus, Differential Equations... I don't have any problems with Calculus and Differentials but Linear Algebra was a bit foggy sometimes... What are the topics in Linear Algebra that i...

i need to dissolve a copper nail completely what chemical can do that and how much time is enough to form the reaction , i thought about sulphuric acid as a reactant but i don;t know if it dissolve it completely or partially !

Hello Forum, a fiber optic cable has two components: a core and a surrounding layer called cladding. The core has an index of refraction n_cor sligthly larger than the cladding core c_clad. This allows total internal reflection to take place. The difference in index is small to avoid...

I'm having a lot of difficulty with proofs. I can understand them when I read them, but when asked to prove things myself, I usually fall flat on my face. How important are proofs for physics? Do I really need an intimate understand of the mathematics, or would that be irrelevant? I was...

Of the nineteen candidates, please choose the one(s) you think will prove most significant for future research in Loop-and-allied quantum gravity. Since the poll is multiple choice, it's possible to vote for several papers. Abstract summaries follow in the next post...

Here is a quote from Vanhees 71 in another thread on Lagrangians. I reposted here as a new thread because I fear going off-topic and redirecting a thread. In any case, in my study of Lagrangians and Hamiltonians, everywhere I go for tutelage it seems as though everyone is maniacally focused...

I'll be applying for graduate programs in physics and chemical physics in about 2 years, and I want to do research in statistical mechanics, particularly thermodynamics of fluids, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, nonlinear dynamics, and other fields related to this. I have time...

So I've just discovered that second year optics is entirely optional for physics majors (and we don't have to take it in third year, either). Since I'm mostly interested in atoms and how their interactions can explain the properties of bulk matter, is optics worth taking? It's my worst and...

Hello, I would like to know whether universities that ask for a PGRE score would eliminate an application outright if I have not appeared for the exam

At my university the program for a B.S. in Physics does not require students to take a senior thesis course, but I have been told it is recommended for people who want to go to graduate school in Physics. I'm not sure if I want to take the course because I have no idea what I would write the...

Hi, So here is the contents of this Elementary Particles course: introduction to families of particles , relativistic kinematics applied to reaction cross-sections and decay rates; symmetries and conservation laws, isospin, strangeness, charm, beauty; parity and CP violation in weak...

I realized that one of my main problem is remembering terms like, whole numbers, rational numbers, etc. I was just wondering how important was it that I actually know these terms? I can do the math, just have problems with some of the terms.

Of the nineteen candidates, please choose those you think will prove most significant for future research in Loop-and-allied quantum gravity. Since the poll is multiple choice, it's possible to vote for several papers. Abstract summaries follow in the next post. http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.0505...

Hello all, I'm a 17 year old Senior in high school, and this time next year I will hopefully be in a university somewhere. I have been debating with myself for the past few years as to what I really want to do once I get out of high school, and I think I've settled on Engineering, most...

Last night i did an experiment with a halogen bulb, rated at 12v 100w (8.33amps) dc. The exact model is this: http://inpcars.com/spotlights/motortrendmts43707-i.jpg I used to turn that bulb on, 3 serial batteries 1.5v "aaa" @ 0.4ah = 4.5 @ 0.4ah (1.8watts), and it turn on a little bit...

It must be, right? Obviously, if you're pushing a block by exerting a force F on it over a distance D on the ground, if you are in the frame of you or the block, your distance is 0 so it appears you're doing no work. I ask this question because I was doing a practice problem that should be...

Hi, I realize that this might be a silly question to ask without some proper background so: I'm a rising sophomore who is reviewing Calculus I-III right now. I first took Calculus as a junior in high school under the AP Calculus BC curriculum. I then took multivariate calculus and a semester of...

Of the twenty candidates, please choose those you think will prove most significant for future research in Loop-and-allied quantum gravity. Since the poll is multiple choice, it's possible to vote for several papers. Abstract summaries follow in the next post. http://arxiv.org/abs/1206.6736...

Hllo guyz please i want to know or better still get enlighten on the importance of programming in EEE. Cos i have a kid brother who wants to study EEE and wants to know if he would be needing programming. Thanks.

When graduate school admissions look at your undergrad research experience, does it matter that much whether the field research experience have any relevance to the field you want to pursue in graduate school? Or in other words, is actually doing research and acquiring research experience...

Hello Forum, According to general relativity, objects in a gravitational field behave similarly to objects within an accelerating enclosure. For example, an observer will see a ball fall the same way in a rocket as it does on Earth, provided that the acceleration of the rocket provides the...

super important for science- What's the relationship between Al and H2O Does the insertion of aluminum rods into a beaker of water affect the time it takes for the temperature of the water to reach 75 degrees Celsius when heated? I believe it would because there is more mass but I'm not...

Can an atom "give away" or "steal from another" an electron AND become an ion just to "satisfy" the Octet rule? Does an atom "prefer" to have 8 electrons in the outer shell MORE then it "wants" a neutral charge(not be an ion)? I imagine this varies from element to element. The elements i am...

Good afternoon! I will begin taking upper division mathematics in the fall, and I definitely wish to obtain a Master's right after undergrad, and as for PhD, I'm a bit iffy if I want one (I'll save that for another post in a couple years ^.^) Anyway, I have 4 electives where I get to choose what...

I have read many websites with different answers but most point to C and C++? I would really like the advice of someone in the field Thank you.

I'm planning on taking a bunch of math courses in next year's Fall semester. Here are courses I'm looking into: PDE Real Analysis Abstract Algebra Differential Geometry There's also Complex Analysis offered in the Spring semester. I know PDE is used extensively in physics, but I'm...

I know the main focus of Civil Engineers are the strength of the structures. I also know that Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics are important in designing dams or other structures related to fluid. But what about to Building structures? How is it important?

I've a graph similar to a 1/x^2 function, but it's only represents positive X values. The Y axis represents the duration in seconds, and X represents the number of objects. This graph shows that, as the number of objects grows, the time decreases. If I want to represent this graph in a semi-log...

Thanks for any replies!