Theoretical Definition and 999 Threads

Is it just me or have we had a lack of discoveries in our theoretical physics endeavors for some long time now? e.g. No WIMPs or other 'dark matter' particles detected with all those detectors, no Higgs particle at the LHC, no LIGO gravitational waves detected, no proofs of String theory or...

Hello, I have my first course in differential equations. So to solve a homogeneous linear differential equation of order n, you solve the characteristic polynome. Now say it has two complex roots z_1 = a_1 + b_1i and z_2 = a_2 - b_2i. These two roots give two independent solutions, namely y_1...

Hello, I am currently looking at some different degrees for undergrad. I would be very grateful if anyone could give me information. My interests are mostly theoretical physics (quantum, relativity), but I am also interested in nanomedicine, evolution, complex systems, and computer science...

Hi. I am currently a senior in highs chool and have already been accepted to a college [UMKC]. I was wondering if it would be beneficial for me to double major in Physics and Math. I am planning on going to grad school and getting a Ph.D in Astrophysics or theoretical physics. Would double...

Homework Statement The descending mass of the pulley system (atwood machine) is 60g and the ascending mass is 55g. Using DataStudio to measured the slope of the velocity over time (read by the spinning spokes of the pulley) the acceleration (constant) is experimentally given as 0.316m/s^2...

Let us take for granted for this discussion that we are clear by what we mean by macroscopic measurements: reading a number from a ruler, a scale, a gauge of any sort. Now suppose we perform a (macro) measurement of some aspect of a real laboratory system whose result, we presume, depends on...

Is there a known formula or method to find the linear coefficient of thermal expansion for all materials? I'm curious about what are the variables.

Are there any developed theories to explain why Muons and Taus decay so quickly, and why they don't stick around and leave us with x-ray emitting hydrogen atoms? It would be interesting if we could get them to last longer (I suppose relativistic speeds do, but that's still insignificant on the...

Hello I'm a spanish student, I'm finishing my 5th year in physics here in Madrid at UAM. I was planning on following the usual path here and start the Master in theoretical physics that we have here in Madrid at the same university, which is pretty good(2 year) and then it gives you access to a...

Howdy everyone, I'm at the point were I have to make the decision on my career well actually I'm a semester late but I need help with this. First, my main goal, is to be a theoretical physicist or something along those lines because that's where my interest is but I need a Ph.D. for that and...

Choosing modules for theoretical Physics from Math Graduate Diploma course: Hi forum members, I am studying Math Graduate Diploma at Kings College london. I am going to do M.Sc Theoretical Physics next year. I need your advice in choosing Math Grad Diploma modules closely related to the...

Hi guys, I'm in the second year of my undergraduate degree at Melbourne University. The subjects I have done this year are: - Real Analysis - Vector Calculus - Group Theory & Linear Algebra - Quantum Mechanics & Special Relativity - Thermal & Classical Physics - Electromagnetism &...

I just found how to start a new topic...sorry .. HI, dear all, Currently I am reading the paper "spatial scan statistics: approximation and performance study " and confused with section 4.1. I read many times , but still cannot get the meaning how the formula of (4.2) come from and why...

Hello. I am enrolled for this year in the theoretical physics master offered by ecole normal superieure in paris. It is an enormous task to pull off and so I need (and beg) some advise to speed up my progress from the most knowledgeable of the lot. So I completed a five year course in...

Hi , I want to Study Theoretical physics . I know The Mathematics required for this . I have lecture notes of these mathematical fields but I do not Know if they were written for Physics or mathematics students . The question is do i need to study all the material provided in these notes which...

Dear all, I want to be able to read and understand the basic concepts of Theoretical Physics (String Theory, LQG, Supersymmetry, AdS/CFT) at the level of: 1- A First Course in String Theory by Barton Zwiebach 2- Quantum Gravity by Carlo Rovelli. I plan to study the following textbooks (in...

The problem is with energy of electromagnetic field -\frac{d}{dt}\int_V\frac{1}{2}(\vec{E}\cdot\hat{\epsilon}\vec{E}+\vec{B}\hat{\mu^{-1}}\vec{B})dV=\oint(\vec{E}\times\vec{H})\cdot d\vec{S}+\int_V\vec{j}\cdot\vec{E}dV I have this relation \hat{\epsilon}, \hat{\mu}^{-1} are symmetric tensors...

from experimental to theoretical :) Hey guys , I'm an electrical engineering sophomore from Egypt , with very good physical and mathematical background , I've always had GREAT passion in physics (cosmology) , and this year I've done research in Astrophysics working on Pulsars and Magnetars...

Does anyone know the best colleges for theortical astrophysics Thank YOU

My name is Alex, and my dream is to become a theoretical physicist. I know that is probably very vague, so let me clear it up a bit. I love the universe. I think the universe is the most amazing place, just because of how weird it can be. I really can't get enough of it. I would spend hours...

Im new to college and I am majoring in Physics, how would i go about getting a degree in theoretical physics

Hi, I am an undergrad majoring in Physics. I want to be a theoretical physicist. What language would help me more (in any way)? German or Chinese? Thanks,

Hey, as you may have guessed I'm thinking of taking a Theoretical Physics course rather than just straight Physics, but that due to its maths-heavy nature I'm worried I might not cope all that well. I mean, I love the idea of theoretical - admittedly it's a rather romanticised view of it - but...

Hi I am going into the 4th year of Physics at Oxford this October and have been looking into PhDs etc. I'm quite keen on going into theoretical physics (Particle or condensed) and from reading various university websites it seems that places for this are relatively scarce. At Oxford for...

Hey guys, I know this is predominately an american centred forum but I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I've completed the first year of a Theoretical Physics 4 year course at Durham (in the UK). However with the modules that I chose I do still have the option to swap over to...

Many of the most fundamental physics problems that theoretical physicists work with are really cool, but they are so abstract that sometimes it just feels that you are sitting with huge tomes/books and looking at details. How do you stay motivated? How do you bring back the taste for maths...

Hanno Sahlmann has announced the formation of a new LQG group, at the APCTP in Korea. There are postdoc and PhD student positions to be filled and he indicates he would like to get them filled by this fall (which is fast approaching!) sahlmann@particle.skipthis.uni-karlsruhe.andthis.de...

Hello, I am lately looking for a theoretical physics master program taught in English, and I came across http://www.theorie.physik.uni-muenchen.de/TMP/courses/index.html" . It really looks like a complete program for those who seek a really mathematical-based courses; not to mention its hot...

Hi, I'm a student currently going into my 4th and final year of an MSci in Physics with Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London. I'm currently averaging at a high 2.1, and hope to achieve a low 1st class degree (I won't go into the reasons for this slightly optimistic sounding prediction...

Hi there! a little background about me: 1. final year in bsc physics, malaysia. 2. working on DFT as final yr project (err.. lots of programming involved) 3. like math and how we apply it in physics. 4. have no idea which field of theoretical physics to go into. questions: 1. Is it...

Hi all, I'm wondering what field of theoretical physics is least competitive. I'm guessing it's one in which there is most funding available, and I'm further guessing that is theoretical condensed matter physics (CMP). I'm guessing that CMP research, theory namely, has results that are most...

Firstly I'm not entirely sure as to where this belongs on this sight, but I figured that it was related to coursework. It's coming up to that time were I have to do an extended essay on an area of interested. For those of you who don't know an extended essay is it's an essay required by the...

Hello there, I am currently 14 and 1 and a half weeks away from starting high school and over my summer break I've developed a strong fascination in theoretical physics, especially in the brane theory(which involves the notion that there are actually 11 dimensions of space and one of time) and I...

My question is that is the fact, that all particles are either boson or fermions, only an empirical fact, or can it be argued theoretically too. The reason why I'm asking this is that I have not encountered anyone stating honestly, that it is an empirical fact only. But on the other hand, I...

Hello, the professor supervising my bachelor thesis is happy with the results. Together with another co-author, he is currently writing a paper for Physical Review Letters and is considering adding my results to it. However, for this purpose, he needs more general results. In other words, if...

I am an undergraduate physics major aspiring to study theoretical physics in graduate school. I was wondering if it is better to double major in math and physics, at the expense of taking less physics classes and more rigorous proof based math, or minor in math and take the two semester...

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place ... anyway ... I'm studying to be a biomedical researcher, but I have a great interest in physics and math, and I feel like I can't live without learning these sciences in a more deep way than I would need for my profession. Physics...

Hey all, I'm going to be a freshman in college in a month or two, and am currently intending on majoring in something within the liberal arts; at the moment, I'm heavily considering philosophy. I'm quite interested in theoretical physics, astronomy, cosmology, and astrophysics as side...

Hello. So I need a little bit of help with this. I am trying to 'make' a theoretical generator, that is powered by a wind station. There are so many variables that I either need to make up or find, such as coil thickness, length etc. So I was wondering whether anyone could help me? Can someone...

May seem like a bizarre question but I was wondering what the maximum possible resolution of a scanned A4 image would be. A4 paper is 0.297m x 0.21m, average resolution of light is 200nm. So I get, (0.297m / 200x10^-9m) x (0.21m / 200x10^-9m) = 1.56 terapixels Is this about right...

Hey PF, I am a third year undergraduate who has been working in a HEP experimental group for two years. So I have had a good deal of experience with the research process, and I know basically what the grad students and postdocs spend their time on in my group. I am still completely...

I recently acquired my BSc in physics and am planning to continue my studies on the MSc (and hopefully PhD) level. I have reasonable expectations to get into a very good program dealing on the topics of mathematical and theoretical physics. The main topics covered by the courses in that...

i am starting do be very interested in theoretical physics, if i specialised in this for a degree, would that be a good thing?, i mean surely most physics and tech jobs require mainly experimental skills?

Homework Statement The mayor of a city decides to fire some city employees because they will not remove the sag from cables that support the city traffic lights. If you were a lawyer and knew some physics, what defence would you give on behalf of the employees? Who do you think will win the...

I was reading that while you study a Bsc in Theoretical Physics, you learn how to do quite a lot of programming. I am quite unfamiliar with programming but I was wondering how transferable are the programming skills you learn? Are they applicable to things like web design etc? Or are they only...

I have become enamored with Theoretical Physics. I want to learn. Can I teach myself? Do I need to study other areas of Physics first? Do I need to take collegiate courses? I'd add on a science related major/minor, but I have just switched my major and I am too behind and broke to do so...

hi this is my first post ,and i hope it is ont the last. can i ask you a single question : can you tell me the different between studying theoretical physics and studying applied physics ? thank you.

I have a small steel cylinder centered inside a larger steel cylinder. The remaining space is filled with 60% silica sand and 40% air. I am heating the larger cylinder in a furnace at a known heating rate and I want to calculate the theoretical rate of heating of the internal cylinder. This is...

Honestly, I haven't got a clue. Well I do, but I'm quite sure it's fictional. EDIT: Maybe I should have explained what I meant by "lifestyle". Exactly what do they do? I know an experimental physicist would go to a lab and perform experiments which would yield results. What does a theoretical...

Hi guys, I'd like to know universities, other than harvards and princetons, that have very strong groups in theoretical particle physics and need students. Mostly strong groups in theoretical particle physics are in the top 10 universiies, like MIT and so on but it is extremely hard to get into...