Magnitude Definition and 1000 Threads

An order of magnitude is an approximation of the logarithm of a value relative to some contextually understood reference value, usually ten, interpreted as the base of the logarithm and the representative of values of magnitude one. Logarithmic distributions are common in nature and
considering the order of magnitude of values sampled from such a distribution can be more intuitive. When the reference value is ten, the order of magnitude can be understood as the number of digits in the base-10 representation of the value. Similarly, if the reference value is one of certain powers of two, the magnitude can be understood as the amount of computer memory needed to store the exact integer value.
Differences in order of magnitude can be measured on a base-10 logarithmic scale in “decades” (i.e., factors of ten). Examples of numbers of different magnitudes can be found at Orders of magnitude (numbers).

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  1. P

    Coriolis acceleration and magnitude question

    Q. An aeroplane flies at constant altitude due south over London. Its speed is 320 km/h and the latitude of London is 51 degrees North. What is the magnitude and direction of the Coriolis acceleration on the aeroplane? Do I use Coriolis acceleration = 2ω x v to find acc? Is ω = 2π /...
  2. P

    What is the magnitude of r'(t) if r'(t) is <1,2t,3t2>?

    Homework Statement whats |r'(t)| if r'(t) is <1,2t,3t2> Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution im finding normal and binormal vectors and i need to divide r(t)/r'(t) |r'(t)| = sqrt (12+(2t)2+(3t2)2) how does that simplify down to something that can be an appropriate...
  3. Simfish

    How exactly do you measure the Richter magnitude of an earthquake?

    Supposedly, you use a certain type of seismometer. But in that case, how could a deep earthquake far away register as "higher" than a shallow earthquake that's up close? Sure, the deep earthquake may release more energy, but much of it is dissipated by the time it reaches the seismometer (and...
  4. P

    Force and acceleration given position equations. Find magnitude and angles

    Homework Statement A 0.42 kg particle moves in an xy plane according to x(t) = - 19 + 2 t - 2 t3 and y(t) = 25 + 8 t - 7 t2, with x and y in meters and t in seconds. At t = 0.6 s, what are (a) the magnitude and (b) the angle (within (-180°, 180°] interval relative to the positive direction of...
  5. ThomasMagnus

    Summing Unequal Magnitude Vectors to Reach Zero

    Hi, I'm looking for some help on how the sum of a certain number of vectors can equal zero. I know that the sum of 2 vectors with equal magnitudes but opposite directions will equal zero; 2 vectors of unequal magnitude can never have a sum equal zero; and that three vectors of unequal...
  6. L

    Resultant electric field magnitude and direction

    Homework Statement a square of sides 10cm has four charges at each corner starting clockwise from top right they are 5,10,6 and 3nC. Determine the resultant electric field including magnitude and direction at the centre of the square. Owww and the medium is air. Finally what is the force on...
  7. E

    How to Determine the Magnitude of Space Debris Based on Dimension and Distance?

    Dear all, I'm new here and I'm sorry if my problem has already been discussed anywhere else. I have some problems in determining the magnitude of space debris as a function of their dimension and distance. I have to find the visual absolute magnitude of a 30 cm diameter debris, at 36000 km...
  8. S

    How Do You Calculate the Charge Between Two Points Given Voltage Difference?

    Homework Statement Location A is 3.04m to the right of a point charge q. Location B lies on the same line and is 3.87m to the right of the charge. The potential difference between the two locations is VB - VA = 45.0V . What is the magnitude and sign of the charge? Homework Equations...
  9. P

    Vector addition. finding x & y components, the magnitude, & the angle

    Homework Statement Two vectors have equal magnitude of 14.8 m and the angles are theta 1 = 32 deg & theta 2 = 108 deg. Find a) their x component b)their y component of vector sum \vec{}r c) the magnitude of \vec{}r & d) the angle \vec{}r makes with the positive direction of the x axis...
  10. N

    How to Calculate Combined Apparent Magnitude for Binary Star Systems

    Hi guys, first post (hopefully not only). If 2 stars are in an apparent binary system, how do you calculate the "combined apparent magnitude" of the system if you know both their apparent magnitudes and their distance from you. I can work out the apparent magnitude (even though that's not...
  11. F

    Magnitude of a Net Charge within a closed surface

    Homework Statement A closed surface with dimensions a = b = 0.254 m and c = 0.4064 m is located as in the figure. The electric field throughout the region is nonuniform and given by ~E = (α + β x^2)ˆı where x is in meters, α = 4 N/C, and β = 6 N/(C m2). Picture of object attached...
  12. T

    Ampere's Law to find the magnitude of the magnetic field

    Homework Statement The wire in Figure 21-40 carries a current of 12 A. Suppose that a second long, straight wire is placed right next to this wire. The current in the second wire is 28 A. Use Ampère’s law to find the magnitude of the magnetic field at a distance of r = 0.72 m from the wires...
  13. A

    What determines the magnitude of a tangent vector?

    The unit tangent vector, T(t) = r'(t) / || r'(t) || always has length 1. Alright, so how do we get a sense of the length of the actual tangent vector itself? Its direction is easy to imagine, but I can't understand how its magnitude changes along the curve (does it have something to do with...
  14. J

    Magnitude of Acceleration given a pendulum equilibrium

    Homework Statement A pendulum has a length L = 1.36m. It hangs straight down in a jet plane about to take off as shown by the dotted line in the figure. The jet then accelerates uniformly, and while the plane is accelerating, the equilibrium position of the pendulum shifts to the position...
  15. T

    Magnitude of Electric Field at a Point

    Homework Statement Given a sphere of radius R with a uniform charge distribution Q, what is the magnitude of the electric field at a point p0 inside of the circle? Homework Equations Flux = 4 pi r^2 E = Q/epsilon The Attempt at a Solution So I was watching an MIT lecture online...
  16. N

    What is the magnitude of the resultant of the following vectors?

    Homework Statement What is the magnitude of the resultant of the following vectors? 5N, East 8N, 30 degrees West of North 2N, East 7.5N, 23.5 degrees West of South Is there a way to solve this using a calculator? Any help would be great.
  17. N

    How Do You Calculate the Resultant Force from Concurrent Coplanar Forces?

    Homework Statement Find the magnitude and direction of 4 concurrent coplanar forces: 10N 32 degrees east of north 35N 50 degrees east of north 25N 72 degrees east of north 85N 40 degrees east of south Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  18. N

    How Do You Calculate the Magnitude of a Resultant Vector from Multiple Forces?

    Homework Statement Find the magnitude of the resultant of the following series of vectors. 120N, North 190N, 60 degrees East of North 70N, 10 degrees East of South 150N, 45 degrees South of West I have similar questions like these and not sure how to answer them, if anyone can help...
  19. N

    How Do You Calculate the Magnitude and Direction of Coplanar Forces?

    Homework Statement Find the magnitude and direction of 3 coplanar forces of: 40N 45 degrees east of south 10N west 70N 35 degrees east of north This is all new to me so anyone that can show me and hopefully explain how I can get the answer would be great.
  20. L

    Vector and scalar magnitude problem

    Homework Statement The vector -1.90A has a magnitude of 59.1 m and points in the positive x direction. Calculate the x component of the vector A. Calculate the magnitude of the vector A. Homework Equations 3. The Attempt at a Solution I understand vectors but having a...
  21. N

    Calculate Magnitude of Force F2: Homework Solution

    Homework Statement Two forces F1 and F2 are acting on a mass M=4kg. The force F1 = 7i + 6j + 8k, in N. The acceleration of the mass is given by a = 1i + 3j + 2k, in m/s2. Calculate the magnitude of F2 . Homework Equations F=ma The Attempt at a Solution F1+F2=ma m=4kg...
  22. T

    Vectors: Finding Magnitude and Angle

    Homework Statement In the sum A+B = C, vector A has a magnitude of 10.0 m and is angled 46.5° counterclockwise from the +x direction, and vector C has a magnitude of 15.0 m and is angled 23.5° counterclockwise from the -x direction. What are the magnitude and the angle (relative to +x) of B...
  23. L

    Cross product question find the magnitude of the force

    cross product question.. "find the magnitude of the force" Homework Statement A wrench 0.9 meters long lies along the positive y-axis, and grips a bolt at the origin. A force is applied in the direction of <0, 3, -2> at the end of the wrench. Find the magnitude of the force in Newtons...
  24. S

    What are (a) the magnitude and (b) the angle

    Urgent! Question Problem! Please Help! 1. Homework Statement [/b] In the sum A-> + B-> = C->, A-> vector has a magnitude of 13.8 m and is angled 44.0° counterclockwise from the +x direction, and vector C-> has a magnitude of 16.8 m and is angled 18.8° counterclockwise from the -x direction...
  25. J

    Electric Field magnitude and distance

    Homework Statement The first question that was asked was; What is the total charge of the radon nucleus? (The neutral radon atom has 86 electrons.) the answer to that is 1.38*10^(-17) C the second question asked is; What is the magnitude of its electric field at a distance of 6.0 x10-(10)...
  26. E

    Finding magnitude and direction of vectors help

    Homework Statement Given the following force vectors: A is 27 lb at an angle of 28° clockwise from the +x-axis, and B is 44 lb at an angle of 52° clockwise from the +y-axis. (a) Using the method of components find the magnitude and angle of the vector C such that 2A + C − B results in a vector...
  27. S

    Reduction in resonance magnitude for a motor/drive-axle model

    Hi all, I am conducting some tests on a simulated physical model of a motor/drive axle system. The goal of the experimentation is to come up with some suggestions to reduce the peak magnitude at the resonant frequency by 30%. Based on the analysis done, a few proposed changes are 1)...
  28. E

    Magnitude of electric field and 3 points

    Homework Statement Points A, B, and C are at the vertices of an equilateral triangle. A certain positive charge q placed at A produces an electric field of magnitude 145 N/C at C. Suppose a second, identical charge is placed at B. What is the magnitude of the new electric field at C...
  29. E

    Find the Magnitude of b Given c and a Vector in the Positive y-Axis

    Homework Statement If b is added to c = 3.9i + 3.7j, the result is a vector in the positive direction of the y axis, with a magnitude equal to that of c. What is the magnitude of b? 2. The attempt at a solution I've probably just been staring at these problems for too long... First of...
  30. N

    Why have electron and proton same magnitude of charge?

    I know that energy is equivalent to mass and that a proton is many times more massive than an electron and yet the charges are equal in magnitude in both. How is it the electron is able to match the protons charge with so much less mass? What is it about its configuration that enables it to...
  31. B

    Magnitude and coordinate direction angles of the resultant force.

    Problem is here http://engineeringhomework.net/statics/FG02_32-03UNP62.JPG Determine the magnitude and coordinate direction angles of the resultant force. I don't know where to start on this one.
  32. N

    Magnitude of Electric Field in Insulating Cylinder

    Homework Statement Consider a long, uniformly charged, cylindrical insulator of radius R and length l with charge density 1.8x10^-6 C/m^3. The value of the permittivity of space is 8.85419 × 10^−12. What is the magnitude of the electric field inside the insulate at a distance 1.3cm from the...
  33. I

    How do I find the magnitude of the sum of these force vectors in 3 dimensions?

    Homework Statement [PLAIN]http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3756/fmp1.jpg How do I calculate the magnitude of the sum of these 3 vectors? Also, how do I find the angles the sum of the vectors make with each axis? F1 = 260N F2 = 75N F3 = 60N Homework Equations F = F1 + F2 + F3The Attempt at a...
  34. M

    Calculating Strong Force on a Captured Neutron in a Nuclear Reactor

    Homework Statement A nucleus that captures a stray neutron [in a nuclear reactor, for example] must bring the neutron to a stop within the diameter of the nucleus by means of the strong force.That force, which "glues" the nucleus together, is approximately zero outside the nucleus. Suppose...
  35. T

    Magnitude of Electric Force Between Two Ions

    Homework Statement Find the magnitude of the electric force between a Na+ ion and a Cl- ion separated by .5 nm. Homework Equations |F| = (kQq)/r^2 The Attempt at a Solution So the problem I am having with this question is this: my first attempt at a solution was to designate |Q| =...
  36. A

    Coulombs Law. Calculate Charge Magnitude and Direction

    Homework Statement Three charges are arranged as shown in the diagram below. Their magnitudes are: q1 = +2.5 x 10^-17 C q2 = +3.0 x 10^-17 C q3 = +3.5 x 10^-17 C (its a right angle triangle, with 50 cm as the hypotenuse, 40 cm as the horizontal, and 30 cm as the vertical) Figure image...
  37. S

    Physics magnitude of avg acceleration

    A baseball player hits a line drive. Just before the ball is struck, it is moving east at a speed of 37.6 m/s (84 mi/h). Just after contact with the bat, 1.05x10^-3 s later, the ball is moving west at a speed of 51 m/s (114 mi/h). Find the ball's average acceleration. So i know that to find...
  38. O

    Finding Magnitude and Direction using Component Method?

    Homework Statement Consider the three displacement vectors A = ( -2i + 3j ) m, B = ( 2i + 7j ) m, and C = ( -7i + 5j ) m. Use the component method to determine the following. (a) The magnitude and direction of D = A + B + C |D| = ___ m θ = ___° (from the +x axis) (b) The magnitude and...
  39. X

    How Do You Calculate the Electric Field in a Capacitor from Electron Deflection?

    Homework Statement The figure shows an electron entering a parallel-plate capacitor with a speed of 5.4×106m/s. The electric field of the capacitor has deflected the electron downward by a distance of 0.618cm at the point where the electron exits the capacitor. Find the magnitude of the...
  40. jegues

    Simple Electric Field Magnitude Question

    Homework Statement See figure attached for problem statement. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I can see that the y-components of each particle will cancel each other out so we are solely looking at how the x-component forces of each particle affect the field at the...
  41. S

    Electric Field at a Point on the Axis of a Charged Disk?

    Homework Statement A flat, circular annulus of radius 7 m with a hole in the center of radius 2 m is charged on one surface such that the surface charge density varies with the radial distance from the center of the disk by the equation sigma= (r2 + 961)1/2 x 10-6, where is in C/m2 and r is in...
  42. J

    Why is wave intensity defined as displacement^2 rather than just its magnitude?

    pretty straightforward question. for a long time I've been blindly calculating that intensity is (displacement from zero)^2, but never questioned why. So why is this? I get that by squaring you get a positive value, which helps in, say, quantum probability calculations, but what's wrong with...
  43. C

    How Do You Calculate the Magnitude of a Complex Fractional Vector?

    Homework Statement Find the magnitude of \frac{6t(-3t^2\hat{i}+\hat{j})}{(1+9t^4)^2}Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I know how to take the magnitude for something simple like 3x \hat{i} + 8y \hat{j} + 2 z \hat{k} but not this. My lecture notes don't give me any examples of how to...
  44. Z

    Does general relativity give curvature a magnitude?

    I see that general relativity uses tensors to calculate curvature. How exactly does relativity calculate actual curvature. Are the units of curvature m^-1, like regular curvature units? For example, using SI units Ruv - 1/2guvR = (8πG/c^4)Tuv R00 - 1/2g00R = (8πG/c^4)T00 R00 + R/2 = 8πGρ/c^2...
  45. D

    Magnitude of the acceleration of the ball

    Homework Statement A soccer player accelerates a 0.50 kg soccer ball by kicking it with a net force of 5.0 N. Calculate the magnitude of the acceleration of the ball. b. What is the magnitude of the force of the soccer ball on the player's foot. Homework Equations a=fnet/m...
  46. N

    Find Magnitude: Help with Homework Problem

    Homework Statement A ball of mass 350g is traveling with a speed of 4m/s when it hits at right angles a fixed vertical wall. The ball rebounds with a speed of 3m/s. Find the magnitude of the impulse exerted by the ball on the wall. Using a simple diagram show the direction of velocities and...
  47. S

    Magnitude of momentum of electrons

    Homework Statement Find the magnitude of momentum of electrons in a straight wire of copper of length 1 meter carrtying a current of 16 ampere. a) 14.56e-12 kg m/s b) 29.12e-12 kg m/s c) 18.2e-11 kg m/s d) 91e-12 kg m/s The answer is (d) Homework Equations The Attempt at a...
  48. W

    Magnitude of the Tension in a Connection String

    1. Two masses are connected by a light string. The horizontal mass of 2 kilograms is being pulled to the left with a force of 30 Newtons along a frictionless surface. The vertical mass is 1 kilogram. What is the magnitude of the tension in the connection string? 2. Fnet=ma 3. My...
  49. M

    Magnitude and Duration of Inrush on various lighting technologies

    Hi: I'm wondering where I can find a table with the magnitude and duration of inrush on the many various lighting technologies at the various levels they come in. Any suggestions? Thanks!
  50. S

    Magnitude of Electric field at point P

    Homework Statement If Q=80nC, a=3.0m , and b=4.0m in the figure, what is the magnitude of the electric field at point P? Homework Equations EF=k*Q1*Q2 / R^2 The Attempt at a Solution I'm not sure how to go about solving this problem. Do I use the above equation? I don't have...
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