Theoretical Definition and 999 Threads

What to expect from my class "Theoretical Physics 1"? I'm starting my major in physics this fall and I'm taking multivariable calculus, mechanics, E & M, and theoretical physics 1. I pretty much know what to expect from the other 3. But I'm going into this class "theoretical physics"...

If I'm interested in going to grad school to do theoretical physics how much math am I expected to pick up as an undergrad? I know theory requires a lot more math than experiment but how much more and do I need to do it while I'm still an undergrad or will I be able to pick it up along the way...

Out of curiousity, I am wondering what happens, theoretically of course, if we place a 1.5V AC light bulb (which do not exist) onto a DC circuit with a 1.5V battery? What would happen if we connect this battery backwards on the circuit (positive to the negative terminal and vice versa). This...

If we define Landau's Theoretical Minimum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Landau#The_Landau_School) as roughly understanding ALL of the entire course of theoretical physics by Landau and Lifgarbagez, who thinks they would make the minimum? I know I sure as hell wouldn't. That requirement is...

What are in your opinion the most interesting areas or topics in foundational physics? (that have or could have profound philosophical implications) I want to see what's out there.

Hi all, my situation is as follows: I'd like to pursue a career in research in the absurdly competitive field of theoretical physics. I'm 3/4 of the way through an MSci in Physics and Maths from Durham in the UK and at present, I'm *JUST* on course for a 1st class degree (Not sure what that is...

Hi, I am doing an acceleration/force lab, and I am having difficulty finding the theoretical acceleration. In my lab it states: The acceleration is the ratio of the net force divided by the total mass? ath= (m-hanger*g-f) / m-cart+ m-hanger) My values are: M hanger= .00567 kg or...

Okay so I was poking around the wiki for the video game Fallout 3 the other day when I came across this page: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/T-51b_Power_Armor It has specs on the armor (keep in mind this is mostly the type of stuff the game designers make up for interesting backstory, so...

I'm starting CMU in about a month and I ultimately want to get a PhD and do research. My dream is to work on theoretical physics and I wanted to know what you guys think about what classes I should make sure I take while I am an undergraduate. I don't know if I am smart enough to work on...

Well, to get straight to the point, I've got a BSc in electrical engineering and have developed an interest in theoretical physics. Since string theory and theoretical physics in general is heavy on math I was wondering if a possible way into the field of theoretical physics might be an MSc in...

Hi everyone, I am comtemplating the PhD which I would like to embark on late 2010. I am having difficulty deciding whether I should take an experimental or theoretical path. Of course I have been speaking to as many relevant people as I can, and reading lots of information. Just...

I wanted to know if it would be at all possible to get my bachelor's degree in theoretical astrophysics at the time I'm 18. I'll be 16 when I graduate this year from high school, and I'm taking 2 dual credit college classes (the max a student can take). I'm also taking AP Physics and AP...

I was looking for some undergrad books covering topics that you would learn in a university as an undergrad in the fields of theoretical physics and theoretical astrophysics. I would also like to know what maths the books require.

Homework Statement Calculate the theoretical yield of aspirin (C9H8O4). C7H6O3 + C4H6O3 --> C9H8O4 +C2H4O2 Mass C7H6O3 = 2g Volume C4H6O3 = 4mL Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I am not sure where to go with this prolem at all. I can't just assume that the density...

Hey it's me again. I'm at the stage now where I'm practically picking universities to apply to & courses and the one problem that I'm having trouble with now is theoretical/straight physics. Would taking theoretical physics affect my chances of post-graduate in terms of research? I know...

Determine the maximum theoretical speed expected for a car, leaving the rest, covering a distance of 50m. The coefficient of static friction between tire and road is 0,80. Knowing that the front wheels bear 60% of the weight of the car and the back, the remaining 40%. Determine the speed (a)...

"the theoretical max power transfer occurs when the impedance of the load is the complex conjugate of the impedance of the source". Can someone help me giving me a more detail explanation of this. Especialy the worlds "complex conjugate".

Hi Everyone, I don't know what kind of my message is so I post it here as it is matter of physics. In fact, I am a UG Students who had just finished my First year. I am so impressed by the "thought experiment" , the "theoretical approach to physics" and "The expression of natural phenomenon...

As I think this would be the right place to ask, I'd like to know what's the best university on Earth that teaches (theoretical) physics and mathematics, which I both want to study, because I want to become a theoretical physicist. What would be the minimum requirements (also diplomas) to be...

I have been wondering what some of the big problems in theoretical physics and astrophysics are. Through some research I have not been able to find a whole lot of them, I am starting to think that this means we have a good grasp on understanding the universe but then I realize that this can't...

Hi my friends, I comes from China, and I want some English math textbook for undergraduate student in theoretical physics, contains Advanced Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Statistics and Probability Theory, Method of Mathematical Physics, any suggestion pls?

Hello everyone, I am a junior in aerospace engineering student at Georgia Tech, and out of my boredom for the month that I have off I have begun to be interested in theoretical physics, I was wondering if there were some good books to read at my level. Of course with AE, there is a lot of...

A wire and a battery (a AA Duracell battery just to keep things clear) are connected in series. The way I understand it, the wire (say, 1 meter in length) already has its fixed number of charges, both positive and negative. When those charges move, meaning when there is a potential...

I am an undergraduate physics major preparing to enter my senior year. My college requires all physics students to complete a significant and original piece of research; mine will be an examination of the antiferromagnetic Potts model using the multiple histogram method. Much of this and the...

Hey, I am have the initial velocities and masses of nuclei involved in fusion, and am trying to figure out the resulting velocities and kinetic energies. Since this is an inelastic reaction, i can't use Kinetic energy, as it is not conserved. I have the conservation of momentum to use...

Hey people. I hold an Astrophysics Msci (undergraduate masters) at 2:1 in the UK, and I'm currently preparing to apply to PhD programmes in 6-7 months time. I have a few questions. I'm interested in theoretical cosmology, and theories of galactic evolution - I'm looking for good universities...

* In 1928, PHYSICIST and nobel prize winner Max. born told a group of visitors to gottingen university "physics , as we know it, will be over in six months".His confidence was based on recent discovery by DIRAC of the equation that governed the electron.It was thought that a similar equation...

Hi, I want to be a theoretical particle physicist, and was wondering how I, having not yet been *formally* edumacated in the various subjects of physics (but will be going to get my M.S. at the M.S.-only-granting physics department in Duluth, MN)... ...go about applying for grants, and...

I want to be a theoretical physicist. I'm 15 and a sophomore in high school. I'll be graduating next year (3 year program) when I'm 16. It's not a minimun program, I'm actually on the most distinguished graduation program (Texas Scholar). I just get many credits in a short amount of time. Since...

I would like to build stuff and conduct experiments but i would also like to take walks in the park think of theories. So how do i choose between these two. Maybe i can become an experimental physicist and then come home and write a bunch of stuff. Can you be both an experimental and theoretical...

Hey everyone, I have a hypothesis that I would like to confirm. I won't bore anyone with the nitty gritty details, so I will try to be as general as possible. I'm doing a project on gradient ascent methods and their application to quantum control. The quantum part isn't important as my...

Which one is more favorable: theoretical physics, or experimental physics? In my opinion, theoretical physics is much better, because it leaves one to ponder the how the world works without having to do the all of the things that an conducting an experiment reuquires.

I understand that it takes an infinite amount of time for an event horizon to form. Give this, if there are any black holes, they have been around forever. Are there good comological models that include 'forever', or is my premise wrong?

It seems we have come to a point where Einstein's concerns regarding the loss of the "broad horizon" has become a reality. There is a fractal like dispersion of tenable theories to such an extent that there is no solid ground in theoretical areas in general - only in each specialised area...

Does anybody know of any good and easy to understand books over theoritical fields in physics (i.e. quantum phyiscs, particle physics, general realitivity, etc.)? I'm really interested into reading in on those topics right now, so I would apperciate your help. Thanks!

If I start with basic algebra, I get rules that suggest; 1x+1x=2x Then I consider the 'no end' scenario, and say that if x is infinite; 1x+1x=1x And so I decide that infinity is a 'special case'. Then I get really clever and use something called set theory, which is pretty...

Homework Statement Demonstrate that <\alpha_{1},j_{1},m_{1}|r·p+p·r|\alpha_{2},j_{2},m_{2}> is 0 when m_{1}\neq m_{2} Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I have demonstrated that r·p+p·r is equal to \frac{i·m}{\hbar}[H,r^{2}] I would appreciate your help. Thank you

I'm a freshman at Amherst College in my first college physics course (actually an E&M course). I was doing poorly at first (B-/B) but have gotten into the swing of things and am thoroughly enjoying the theory portion of the class(the experiments are also fun but are sometimes tedious). I have...

Greetings...I am looking for someone (as the title describes) capable of designing a theoretical solar system similar to Earth for a personal project I am working on. There are more details than that 'it is like earth', but i don't think they are relative while finding the person able to...

I have just embarked upon a PhD in Lattice QCD. I'm wondering, what is research like in other areas of theoretical particle physics? Lattice is highly computational and fairly light on theory so it seems a lot of people in the field spend quite a bit of time making/updating and running large...

Homework Statement Water in rock crevices often causes erosion when it freezes, given it expands and exerts pressure on the rock. What is the maximum pressure that water can exert when it freezes? T = 263.15 K dice @ 263.15 K = 0.9 g cm3 dwater @ 263.15 K = 1.0 g cm3 Homework Equations...

What kind of job can you get as a theoretical physicst?

Hi, right now I am a grade 11 student in Ontario, Canada. I've been captivated by theoretical physics for some time now and I really want to try persuing a career in it (ideally in string theory/ other beyond the standard model stuff but anything in quantum mechanics would still be great). So my...

I'm looking for graduate courses with focus on non-string theoretical physics beyond the standard model (or at least, courses preparing for research in that field). I'm also open to string content, but I find other approaches more intriguing. Recently I came across Imperial College's MSc course...

V is a space of inner muliplication. W1 and W2 are two subspaces of V, so dimW1<dimW2 prove that there is a vector 0\neq v\epsilon W_2 which is orthogonal to W1 ??

there is A\epsilon M_{2x2}(Q) I am given that A is diagonazable prove that A) A^10+12A is diagonizable too B)give an example for a matrix B\epsilon M_{2x2}(Q) that is not diagonizable,but b^2 is diagonisable ?? i know that the eigenvalues of a matrix are the same as for every matrix...

there is a space V=Q^4 over Q . there is a series of vectors (v1 ,v2 ,v3,v4,v5) that spans V does the series (v1 ,v2 ,v3,v4) is a basis of V? if it is explain if not give a counter example?? we could have that v5 is a linear combination of others. ??

there is a space V=Q^4 over Q (i thing Q means rational) there is a vector series v with length 6 on V does v linearly independant? if it is explain is not ,give a counter example ?? Q^4 means we have 4 coordinates in each vector but v has vectors with 6 coordinates so i...

Homework Statement 1. Folk wisdom says that a cat always lands on its feet. If a cat starts falling with its feet up, how can it land on its feet without violating the law of conservation of angular momentum ? 2. Is it easier to crawl radially outward or radially inward on a rotating...

hi to all i read stuff on theoretical physics especially GUT's and also read littlephilosophy but i keep wondering why is it that people even study these things when we all know that they will have close to zero applications in the real world. also money is spent on all these things like the...