Physics Definition and 985 Threads

How hard is it compared to undergraduate thermodynamics? Is it harder or easier?

If you enjoy both physics/science and history like me, you may enjoy this video from the Royal Institution. It's about groundbreaking experiments (no theoretical physics); X-rays, particles etc. I'm only 45 minutes in so I haven't seen the entire video yet, but I wanted to share it...

I recently graduated last year with a BS in Physics. To say that it was rough would be an understatement. I started off my degree very well, getting nearly all A's and A-'s. My performance would decline for various reasons, though mostly due to mental health which spiraled and became a bad...

Hello, I'm trying to learn calculus, what books would you recommend? For a beginner.

Can I get an online bachelor in physics because I live in a country with law education rank in natural sciences

I live on a lake, and have for almost 3 decades now. Every year I watch shoreline changes, from year to year and shorter timespans, sometimes just days. The lake is large in surface area at 236 km2 (91 sq mi), but with an average depth of only 28' probably relatively small in volume for its...

I am going into my senior year of hs next year and I am meditating on what I should major in. I have a keen interest in physics but also a love of math. The field in physics I would like to major in is theoretical physics/astrophysics, and the pure maths I am interested in are diff, algebraic...

Hi Pfs, When Stephen Hawking proposed the idea of black hole information it appeared that information could be lost. it was a problem in GR which is a dererminitic theory. Knowing initial data and Hamiltonian tells you what was and will be. It is not the case in quantum physics. things evolve...

I have been experimenting with a minimal "toy" physics engine for JavaScript, called verlet.js but now I want to switch to a more versatile and feature rich engine. One feature I would like to use is the ability to assign a reference angle to a pair of segments (i.e. links, i.e. distance...

Hi everyone, After completing high school, I will enroll this fall at a 3 year technical school in China studying industrial robotics, but I still plan on getting into an undergrad physics program at a later time. (Some colleges can allow a transfer to their undergrad program after technical...

There is a recent article, see below, where an AI equipped computer viewed a classic physics experiment with a double pendulum. The AI algorithm determined some different variables to describe the motion. One problem with this is the AI suggested 4.7 variables - that I don't understand - but...

I was searching for some science forums online yesterday, so I could join one to learn and contribute back. The Forums that operate like early 2000 ones, and their goals are more aligned toward users than creating content for monster spiders. I am glad that I have ended up here now. I visited a...

Can you please recommend me some condensed matter physics study books and semi-conductor physics study books? Much Appreciated!

I was curious if there were any unsolved physics problems and if so which is the most important or intriguing. I have been meaning to contribute to the scientific field in some capacity and I think solving an unresolved issue in physics could do just that. Thanks!

Summary: I am just curious I know 🧐 Im coming up the end of intro university physics mechanics chapters. It has been quite enjoyable, especially chapters on energy, momentum and fluid mechanics. There’s so much information packed into these chapters though. I am wondering what was your...

If you were to rank potential components of a Physics Master's program, which do you think are the most important for preparing you for a PhD: courses, research, project report, thesis? Also I've seen programs ranging in duration from as short as 9 months all the way up to 2 years. How much...

Umm.. yes I think. Not sure what I’m getting into, but the pursuit of knowledge eh? Teach me please. I’m just here to share thoughts and bounce between fellow big brains. Haha this strange. Good luck!

I wasn't sure if I should post this in astrophysics or particle physics, so I'll try particle physics first, mods feel free to move it to a more appropriate forum. So I was wondering if hypothetical Strange stars exist, would the strange quarks arrange themselves into baryons (i.e. Lambda-0 or...

for (a): I basically got the correct answer, but when resolved with taking different reference lines/frames I got a different answer. for the 1st attempt I took y = 0 (for both ##U_{el}## and ##U_{grav}) at the position where the spring is uncompressed. for the 2nd attempt (with wrong solution)...

Trampolines are in effect coupled springs, with the mat being the much softer spring generally. E.g. On my Acon, when jumping about 1 meter, there is a max cone of depression about 60 cm deep and 1 meter across (1 meter point has a depression of only about 10 cm) At this same point the 160 or...

Free Kindle via Amazon, both part 1 and part 2 Part 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OD49Z96/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Part 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OD49Z00/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Enjoy

Hey y'all, I'm starting college as a Physics major this fall and I started working through Steve Warner's Pure Mathematics for Beginners in my downtime because I love the math courses I've had, wanted to learn more about proofs and how those things came to be, and most importantly had nothing...

Adam Marsh's Mathematics for Physics is available online. Subodh Patil recommends the algebraic topology section, and as a primer to Nakahara.

https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_10.html (From the paragraphs after equation 10.5) 'It is not just a definition to say the masses are equal when the velocities are equal, because to say the masses are equal is to imply the mathematical laws of equality, which in turn makes a prediction...

Do they really teach and help anything? I am taking them for my nanoengineering undergraduate program. The textbooks are solid state physics by j r hook and concepts of modern physics by mcgraw hill and r b singh introduction to modern physics and introduction to quantum mechanics by david j...

Hello, Can someone recommend me a good textbook to (self-)study aerodynamics, optimally with focus on aircrafts. I am a graduated student in physics and therefore familiar with all the basic concepts of fluiddynamics and calculus. But, apart from that, I have no further knowledge in the field...

Hi I'd be grateful for views / thoughts on whether there was potentially a particular event, change, set of circumstances etc which could cause localised variations in the laws of physics (as we understand them). For example, you could be traveling somewhere, when you unexpectedly chance upon...

I will try to keep this concise. I have always loved physics, but was convinced by my parents to pursue biology for career in medicine. Over my undergrad, it really became clear to me that I love physics, and want to pursue a career in the field (a Master's, and then a PHD). I am currently in...

Halves-lives and average lifetimes, when studying nuclear decay, are often expressed in years even though years are not standarized, at least in SI (as far as I know). Borrowing the convention from astronomy and astrophysics, I usually take 1 \mathrm{yr} to be equal to 365.25 days of 86400...

I have a math degree and currently pursuing a BS in physics, I've been offered a job as a data scientist with occasional machine learning stuff. 1) Would this be helpful for my career in physics? If yes then how? (I'm aware that machine learning is being used in various areas of physics, but...

What exactly is condensed here?

I'm a graduate theoretical physics student at the (almost) end of his master's degree with a fairly varied curriculum, as I attended both QFT (and sub-courses on qed qcd etc) and GR courses. However in my latest intro to quantum gravity classes I familiarised with tetrads and, after a lot of...

Hi, you all, I open this thread to ask for any recommendation concerning integration as well as ODE/PDE solving techniques for physics. I love mathematics, and I usually read material on pure mathematics (most notably abstract algebra and a bit of topology) but here I'm more interested in the...

The question is on the title. I was just thinking if exist some magazine on physics and maths whose only focus is to publish interesting problems and solutions?

Hello, I'm trying to decide between physics and electrical engineering. I like building electrical stuff, and I like solving physics problems, but my main goal is to try to build power systems that integrate things like what can be found in this paper https://arxiv.org/abs/1401.0520. I would...

Continue reading...

Summary: I always feel so satisfied when I self-study physics. It takes me time to truly appreciate what I'm learning when I'm under the pressure of university exams, but eventually when I understand it, I love it too. However, I can't explain why I love it. Hey everyone, I appreciate this...

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post my question, however I still want to know. Recently, my teacher asked me the following question: "In which of the cases will the cooling time be the least: 1. the ball is suspended from the ceiling 2.the ball lies on a stand with a thermal...

I'm going into my final year of undergraduate theoretical physics. I have had a bit of a deviation in what I want to do and would really like to work in software development in the future. How difficult would it be for me to deviate from my current position and what steps should I take to to...

I found an article by James Bjorken (https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0210202) which argues that universes with different size would have different physics (like different Standard Model parameters). When applying this reasoning to our own universe, Is this pure conjecture? Or is there some truth...

can you theoretically put a mirror in space, take a photo of earth/dirts reflection and see it in the past?

Hi Folks!I have limited understanding of physics. I am trying to put into words the working principles of a mixer grinder, specifically for making a mango milkshake. So far, these are the steps I have come up with: Where am I wrong? What things have I gotten right? Thanks!

I think part (a) is simple enough. Here is what I have done. (a) ##G=\sigma T^{4}_{s} - OLR## $$ =\sigma (294)^{4} - 160 = 254 Wm^-{2} $$ Part (b) is where I am confused. I think I'm supposed to apply the second relevant equation, in order to get the change in average surface temperature due to...

I want to do a masters related to quantum computing from a physics background and my criteria for the place is: 1. A quantum computing group with experimental realizations and industrial ties. 2. A strong theoretical physics department with research in fundamental physics 3. A good chance of...

I graduated with Physics and Applied math degrees ~4 years ago with a really low gpa ~2.7 with research experience on CMS. I then completed a B.S. in Electrical Engineering last year with a 3.7 and a MS in Artificial Intelligence with a 4.0. Over the past 4 years I've been working as a...

However, I do not understand it at all. Since two point sources at A and B are exactly out of phase. The mid point is a node where the amplitude is zero with zero oscillation. How can part (a) be zero? Should that be a quarter of the wavelength away from the mid point?

I'm a physics graduate from Delhi University, India. Aspirant of Theoretical Physicist . Right now , cleared Clerk in Govt. of India exam. About to get Job. I want to go for some top notch college in USA/Europe for Graduate physics. But also interested in Computer Software Engineering. Want to...

I'm currently pursuing B.Sc degree with major applied math and minor physics. Do you guys think is it worth to switch to comp sci as my minor in terms of employability?

Summary: How fast is the response time? Just a quick question? How fast is response time here?