Observation Definition and 228 Threads

Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any data collected during the scientific activity. Observations can be qualitative, that is, only the absence or presence of a property is noted, or quantitative if a numerical value is attached to the observed phenomenon by counting or measuring.

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  1. J

    I How Does the Many-Worlds Interpretation Address Nonlocality?

    Hello, I'd appreciate some help with understanding how the MWI deals wtih nonlocality. My understanding is most versions of MWI do not include non-locality. To start off this is my understanding of a potential entanglement expeirment: Two particles A and B are entangled then the particles...
  2. davidjoe

    Can an imminent laser strike ever be observable?

    If you are in line with it, arrival is without notice, but what if it were fired to intersect with the point where earth “will be” say from the second closest star, several light years away, and during that period of travel, the bodies get further apart, in non parallel paths. Is it possible...
  3. Skywave

    Stargazing What did I capture?

    I was capturing an area of the sky using my Seestar S50, and there is something in the picture that I cannot explain. The capture has been going to about 40 minutes, and during that entire time it has moved around 3mm on my screen (and it is still going). I've looked at Stellarium, and looked...
  4. quantum philosopher

    I Observing observables of an entity

    ●How are different observables of an entity ( like electron ) observed ? ● Is every observation process fundamentally interaction of the entity with light waves? ● how does observation takes place?
  5. HighPhy

    I About nature of superposition of states

    For quantum mechanics, a certain property of a subatomic particle, e.g. the spin of an electron, which can be either up or down, is a "superposition of states," and one of the two conditions, e.g. the fact that it has spin up or down, doesn't manifest itself until the situation is experimentally...
  6. Sciencemaster

    I Observational Astronomy Project Ideas to Show Special Relativity

    This semester, I'm taking a class on Observational Astronomy which requires us to perform observations for a final project over the course of roughly a month (mid-March to Mid-april, although it could be a bit longer or shorter). As we get to choose the project, I'd like to take this opportunity...
  7. L

    I Limitations of Observing Distant Space Objects

    Physicists suggesting that observing space objects will be in a time that passed the time you are doing the observation if that object is far enough to exceed the distance the light photons can travel in respect to time (300,000 km/sec), anybody can refer me to equation, study or science that...
  8. R

    B Schrödingers cat, is it just mumbo-jumbo?

    If there is a person standing on the opposite side of the closed box with the poor cat containing a poisoning devise, and he can see the cat dying through a transparent window in the box. You stand on the other side of the box and you dont se the cat. What does this mean? Can you now say that...
  9. M

    I Can the Transverse Nature of a Wave from an Electron Gun be Observed?

    Hi. What equipment /mechanism / experimental procedure is used to determine that the nature of a wave fired from an electron gun is transverse in transit? Thanks Martyn
  10. Y

    Funny observation in matching BJT power transistors

    THIS IS NOT HOMEWORK I design audiophile power amps as hobby. I need to match power transistors. It is A LOT HARDER than I thought. I built a test fixture to hold up to 50 transistors at a time. I try to match sets of 13 to about 1mV which is very tight as Vbe change is about -2mV/deg C. I have...
  11. R

    I Can We Predict the Sun's Path from a Single Altitude Measurement?

    Hi. I have this idea that might be useful for celestial navigation. If you were on a random place on the Earth, and you had a way of measuring the altitude of the sun above the horizon, at a precise moment, could you then predict the complete path, such that you could determine the altitude at...
  12. Matt711

    B Q - Double slit experiment, delayed slit selection observation

    Do I see an interference pattern on a interference screen in Double slit experiment if there is a detector watching which slit photon went trough but the observer does not see the result of detector measurement? Thanks :]
  13. L

    I Resolution of observation telescopes?

    I was wondering how the resolution is of a observatory station and compare that to its field of view? Higher rez with larger field or higher rez with more narrow field but much more scanning across the sky to create full images?
  14. Moara

    Observation of events and analysis of the associated Hypotheses

    For letter a), i think that he is assuming that each hypothesis is independent, and that they are mutually exclusive.For letter b), I understand that it indeed admits the relative frequency interpretation, since the the experiment is being produced several times. For letter c) we do the...
  15. B

    How Do You Nudge An Observation From Realm Of Anecdotia

    To the Land of Discovery? I've seen and experienced things I've never read an explanation for, mainly in the biological department, and on quite a few science forums over the years I've been told my observations were nothing more than anecdotes, even if correct. How do you change that?
  16. E

    Observation about the rotation of a disc

    Someone that I tutor asked a simple but pretty good question today which I thought I'd share the answer to. In a tidied up form: a disc with centre at the origin and central axis parallel to a unit vector ##\mathbf{n}## in the ##xy## plane rotates with a constant angular velocity...
  17. O

    Lorentz transformation of multiple events into one frame of observation

    The three events; t = 0s, x=0 t=1.3s, x=1.3 light seconds t=2.6s, 1.3 light seconds
  18. G

    I Can Alfvén waves be observed on a stellar spectrum using amateur equipment?

    I currently do amateur stellar spectroscopy, low to medium resolution, and I like to expand further to study magnetic fields near the sun. I just started studying plasma physics and am aware of Alfvén waves. How would these be observed on a spectrum.? Would it be oscillating Ha lines, or...
  19. P

    B Actions of subatomic particles while under observation

    Hi my name is tim. I have a new found like of the inner workings of or universe , and am currently considering which field i should go into. As of now I am considering computer science. But to me, in my opinion, we as in humans created computers, therefore the science is technically already in...
  20. F

    Stargazing Sun observation (Gregor / Teneriffa)

    Here is a nice example which shows how far popular science and actual science are apart. On one hand we have the eye catching photos of the sun's surface: whereas the corresponding scientific paper on the other hand is very different: GREGOR: Optics redesign and updates from 2018–2020...
  21. S

    I Can astronomical observation take place in daylight in Antacrtica?

    I was reading this Wikipedia article that says observations can be done even when the Sun is at 38° of elevation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordia_Station
  22. E

    B Why is an electron's changing behaviour upon observation fascinating?

    Due to limit on length, I couldn't properly describe what I wanted to ask on the title. I'm trying to understand the century old fascination physicists have on the double slit experiment. From what I understand, the fascination stems from the act of electrons changing the interference pattern...
  23. H

    I Black Hole Observations: What Changed?

    Hello-- I have a question about space observations. It was only 4 or 5 years ago that I was taught that nothing could escape a black hole. More recently I have seen information and images of black holes. What has changed that now we have black hole obseravtions. Most recently, a black hole...
  24. A

    I Foreground & Background in Astrophysical Observation

    During the astrophsyical observation, what is the definition of foreground and background in astrophysical observation?
  25. N

    Interesting observation concerning hydroxychloroquine

    I find the following facts interesting. Morocco and Algeria have been using hydroxychloroquine since the beginning, ignoring the WHO, who say that it is useless and dangerous. By contrast, Canada and France follow the WHO and forbid the use of hydroxychloroquine for covid. The numbers are...
  26. A

    MHB Ferris Wheel Rotation: How Many Degrees Per Minute?

    Ferris wheel consists of an observation wheel with a diameter of 150 meters atop a boarding terminal, giving structure an overall height of 165 meters. Given that the Ferris wheel takes 18 minutes to complete one revolution, how many degrees will each capsule move per minute? create a table...
  27. F

    I Why Won't Observation in a 2 Slit Experiment Cause 1 Slit Diffraction?

    From what I understand, if the two-slit experiment is performed while observing a slit for particles, two distinct bands appear rather than interfering. This is a little confusing, as, from what I understand, diffraction is caused by measuring a particle's position (i.e. using a slit to narrow...
  28. O

    I Observation of matter falling into Black Holes

    How long would it take for an object, stationary with respect to a black hole (mass of the sun), to fall from 1 AU into it beyond its event horizon? From our frame of reference can we observe over time, a black hole growing in size as matter falls beyond the event horizon? From our frame of...
  29. S

    Who invented "observation, hypothesis, experiment, conclusion"?

    Who invented the description of the scientific method as "observation, hypothesis,experiment conclusion"? I'm aware that there are criticisms of this description and alternate descriptions. My question only concerns who first described the scientific method word-for-word in those terms. Was...
  30. CuriousCop

    I Observation = interaction, question from a dummy

    Greeting all! So I apologize if this has been explained to death and if so, please advise as I do not want to clog up the forums with the same questions over and over. A little background first, a coworker and I routinely talk about astrophysics and quantum mechanics( yes, somewhere out there...
  31. SSequence

    I An Elementary Observation Regarding Definability

    Few months ago there was a discussion in the topic(Complex numbers in QM) regarding the notion of definable real numbers. The discussion was in the first 3 or 4 pages of that topic. Anyway, I thought of a reasonably interesting observation about it. Since the main theme of that topic seems...
  32. R

    I Question About The Role of Observation in Quantum Mechanics

    In the double-slit experiment when a detector was placed before the two slits, a 2 strip pattern was produced after the two slits. When there was no detector placed before the two slits, a different pattern was produced after the two slits. Why does the presence of a detector before the two...
  33. R

    I Why Would Observation Change Anything Physically?

    A particle has a 33% chance of being in either position 1, position 2, or position 3. After I observe it, it is in position 1, and not in position 2 or 3. Questions: How do we know it was not already in that position prior to us observing it? Does observation cause position, or is position...
  34. Wrichik Basu

    I Observation of CP Violation in Charm Decays

    New results from the LHCb experiment have identified a difference in the way charm quarks (##c##) behave as compared to anticharm quarks (##\bar{c}##), when a spatial inversion is taken into account. This so-called charge-parity (CP) violation had previously been observed in strange (##s##) and...
  35. R

    What does "observation" mean in science?

    What does observation means in Science. What is the definition? Is it like to do the two separate experiments, on the same topic and compare the results. Am I correct, Thanks In advance
  36. M

    I Observation of the Messier 87 Super Massive Black Hole

    This week, leading up to the release of the pictures of the super massive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of the milkyway, I have done a bit of background research on the topic and learn that they are also looking at trying to get an picture of the super massive black hole at the center...
  37. karush

    Chord Length: A Mathematical Observation

    Ok this should be just an observation solution .. But isn't the equation for chord length $$2r\sin{\frac{\theta}{2}}= \textit{chord length}$$ Don't see any of the options Derived from that..
  38. D

    Double Slit Experiment, Observation Affects Reality

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  39. D

    Force and Torque Calculation and Observation

    Something does not make sense. I have built a large bookcase on rolling wheels (on a concrete floor). I have connected it to wire rope and pulleys as shown in "Pulley Question.jpg". I always keep a 10 lb weight on each side so the lines do not go slack and fall off the pulleys. I need to add...
  40. Leonardo Machado

    I Neutron Stars mass and radii observation data

    Hello everyone. I'm currently working on NS mass relations and trying to plot a curve with predicted masses-radii and observations on NS. There are some free data at this website: http://xtreme.as.arizona.edu/NeutronStars/index.php/neutron-star-radii/ . I downloaded the .tar file and tried to...
  41. N

    I Implications of Nishida's mass/CKM observation

    https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.01110 "Phenomenological formula for CKM matrix and its physical interpretation" This paper was mentioned in "Koide sum rules" thread, but not discussed much. But to me, this looks like a big deal. Here's the "numerology": Square roots of experimental quark masses...
  42. quantumdave

    B Observation in the double-slit experiment

    I'm not sure if there's a better category to post this in, and I'm just a casual physics enthusiast, but I'm having trouble understanding this: "Consider the famous two-slit experiment. When you watch a particle go through the holes, it behaves like a bullet, passing through one slit or the...
  43. Jarvis323

    I Definition and Rules of Quantum State Observation

    I was wondering how the rules work for observation in a quantum system. Particularly, about what happens if two separate entities try measuring at the same time. And also, what kinds of interactions are happening all the time that are considered measurements, for example in quantum...
  44. chemisthypnos

    Observe pH Damaged Cells Via Microscope?

    For an upcoming research project, I intend to apply different solutions to cultures of cells. How would I determine if the cells are incurring damage from the solutions due to the pH of the solutions as I observe them under my compound microscope?
  45. pellman

    I Determining the state from observation?

    How does one determine the state of a system from observations? Let us look at a simple example: the spin of a fermion. Any state of the system is a superposition of up and down eigenstates. Denote the coefficients in this superposition by a and b. The question here amounts to determining a...
  46. Supernova00

    How can this thermodynamic phenomenon be explained

    Hi there. Earlier today I decided to pull out ice cream from the freezer. It is a magnum-type ice-cream and comes in a plastic wrapper. Once I opened the wrapper and removed the ice cream, I left the wrapper on the kitchen table and noticed something rather bizzarre (to me at least)...
  47. B

    Question about observation and the sense theory

    I’m often not sure what science writers mean when they use the word “observe.” I was recently re-reading Einstein’s book on relativity and it’s “observe” this and “observe” that, in a very simplistic sense. What’s “observable” to me is blue and green and red, etc., and the apparent spatial...
  48. Andrew Washington

    B LIGO Observation of Gravitational Waves: Questions Answered

    I am doing a term paper on G. Waves and I have a couple of questions about them. - How do we know that the G. Waves detected by LIGO on September 14, 2015, come from 1.5 billion light years? - How is Einstein's Theory related to them?
  49. mfb

    I Observation of Alfvén waves heating the Sun's corona

    The corona is much hotter than the surface of the Sun, contrary what you would naively expect from the heat flow. While plasma waves were long suspected as cause, the mechanism was not well understood. How are these waves produced, and how is their energy converted to heat? Scientists now...
  50. K

    I What is Meant by Measured in the Context of Electron Position?

    When we say, for example, an electron does not have an exact position around an atom until it is measured, what is meant by measured? Certainly it can't simply mean measured by a human. I'm guessing it means measured in the sense of interacted with by another system. And if that's the case, when...
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