Theoretical Definition and 999 Threads

I am very new here as you can see, and I sincerely appologize if this sort of question has been posted here before.Can you make it in the physics world having gone to a public high school? My goal in life is to one day become a theoretical physicist. I'm 15 and am working non stop to achieve...

I remember reading in my physics book last year that there is no such thing as a magnetic monopole. However since then I think I've heard some things that argue to the contrary. Does anyone know if anyone has been succesful in creating one? And if not does anyone know what the current thought...

Poll Question:It has occurred to me that I might not be using the same definition of "theoretical physics" that most of you are using.Also, I wanted to try out the "Add Poll" thingy.So, in your opinion, what is theoretical physics?"Well, I'm standing next to a mountain; And I chop it down with...

quote:quote:Originally posted by alexander:Stephen, origin of natural laws and natural phenomena from math is called physics, not a philosophy.Would you mind to move the topics back ?Lifegaizer:The problem Alexander, is that you are accrediting 'math' as 'The creator' of everything. Once you...

hey,i'm an artist with a great interest in physics, i know my way around a lot of physics (relativity, strings) but only in a theoretical and quite layman sense.it's got a major major relavance 2 my art and hence i now need to fully understand theoretical physics, meaning the maths. my maths...

I have just recently finished teaching myself calculus. I was wondering wether or not I should look into linear algebra. I have been told both that it is necessary and I have also been told that diff eq and linear algebra are basically the same. Any suggestions? Also, does anyone have any...

Due to an unfortunate circumstance stephen has decided to resign as the mentor of Theoretical Physics. I think he has done a tremendous job and deserves a break! However he will stay on the PF crew as an advisor and will be around the forums just as usual.I would like for all of you to...

Are there really such things as white holes?If so, do they really exist?

Is there any theoretical evidence for a form of matter (apart from gasses) which neither reflects nor radiates light and so appears dark? Could this matter exist in the conditions on earth?

I've been reading a book entitledTime Travel in Einstein's Universeby J. Richard Gott. The book discusses various theoretical methods of time travel that can be acomplished due to the theory of relativity (special and general). Now in one example Gott tells how two backwards time travel can be...

How do ya find the theoretical stoping time of an object?

When I was studying the bachelor in physics, I was happy and got good marks (not the best, but good). I always liked the more theoretical and mathematical subjects. Then I did a masters in Theoretical Physics in Spain. At the beginning I was happy: all subjects were hard but interesting. I spent...

Are there expositions of why various theoretical attempts by prominent physicists failed? - or is it mostly the case that they told people they were making such attempts and never published anything? For example in the thread...

I just finished my sophomore year of a 4-year undergrad in Physics, what relevant courses should I take to pursue my career in theoretical physics research? Advanced grad courses are to be recommended too, thanks.

Dear users, The situation I have encountered is a simple statistical comparison of the experimental data, which accepted as correct, with the results obtained via six theoretical models. In the experimental data, there exist y values corresponding to x values and also the measurement errors of...

Given: V_1 = 10 L, V_2 = 22 L Not sure what I need to do here. We are told to ignore heat transfer, and the problem suggests that this is not a steady-state problem. The gage pressure is given, so I think that means we need to calculate for the absolute pressure, which would be 997 kPa. Cp and...

In respect to the above question, I also have a follow up question. Is progress in Theoretical Physics somewhat slow currently as compared to Experimental Physics?

[Moderator's note: New thread spun off from previous discussion due to more advanced subject matter being discussed.] There is, in fact, a quite good argument that Hawking radiation cannot be derived by semiclassical theory. It is the comparison with the scenario where the collapse stops some...

I'd like to start by saying I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I feel this community will be able to help me more than any other regarding my issue. I'm an Irish student currently studying undergrad theoretical physics in Trinity College Dublin. Growing up, I was somewhat...

Hello! All of my undergraduate research so far was in experimental fields, mainly because most of my professors are doing that at the university. The few ones who are doing something more theoretical are mainly working on numerical simulations. I have always been fascinated about theoretical...

I have come across some online references to Generic Objects of Dark Energy (GEODEs). They are briefly described in this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_object_of_dark_energy The only reference from that article that I have been able to find online is this paper...

I am interested to understand the current theoretical status of Landauer's Principle and related ideas. I am looking for key papers and results in the subject. I will highlight one key paper. An improved Landauer principle with finite-size corrections Abstract: Landauerʼs principle relates...

Hi all, I am currently involved in a theoretical physics project and would like some advice. One of the main takeaways I hope to (well,) take away is the capacity to make simple physical/mathematical statements that are valid, which seems to be an important part of theoretical physics. How do...

Hello everyone! Apologies if this question has been asked and answered before, please feel free to direct me to that post and delete this one, if needed and if it has been asked before and this post is, hence, redundant. I looked up some of the earlier posts such as...

I'm starting at Durham on the 29th of September and I need to get my module choices sorted. I have the choice between 40 credits of maths modules designed for scientists, and 40 credits of maths modules done by regular maths students. They say that you should only do the regular maths modules if...

I am a masters student studying motion analysis in human running. I need to find the angle of the parable tangent derived from the theoretical arc traced by a foot during a step and the ground (see attached). The arc comprises of a persons step height and step length and I need to find the...

This may be a stupid question, but here is what I am asking. Using a very simple circuit, say 120v AC water heating element rated at 1000 watts meaning 120v AC hot leg on 1 terminal and a neutral on the other terminal. That would give 8.3 amps of current, meaning the resistance would be 14.4...

Does the real vacuum pressure/underpressure depends only on the amount of impurities? In the case of theoretical Torricelli vacuum test, when no purities left in the vacuum: Is the vacuum 0Pa at 1m height (with 760mm of Hg) and also the same at 10m height (also with 760mm of Hg) of the test...

Hello am currently an undergraduate student. My major is CSE. But I am very much interested to do my masters and then PhD in theoretical physics/mathematical physics. Is there any university that admits CS graduates for these courses? I have looked up some universities that offer these courses...

Hello. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.1970.0021 The Singularities of Gravitational Collapse and Cosmology The above paper by Hawking and Penrose is presented in the form of a mathematical proof. To my knowledge the predictions it makes about the initial cosmological...

What I’m looking for is some new avenue of physics for a scientist in the Star Wars galaxy to be studying. They probably know what dark matter and dark energy are since Starkiller Base is powered by it. I’m sure they know about how the universe began, why it’s expanding and what it’s fate is...

I'm a student from the UK, completing a degree in theoretical physics. I'm interested in pursuing graduate opportunities in both the UK and the US. Of course, I am much more familiar with the 'UK standard' for graduate studies, in that the areas I want to pursue can fall into either the maths...

...Or even based on logic? I understand that it is expected that there might be a Universal Speed Limit and that this seems with extremely high probability to coincide with the speed of em transmission in a vacuum. This is borne out by experimentation and observation. Are there any other...

In "The Theoretical Minimum" (the one on classical mechanics), on page 218, the authors write a Lagrangian $$L=\frac m 2 (\dot r^2 +r^2\dot \theta ^2)+\frac {GMm} r$$ They then apply the Euler-Lagrange equation ##\frac d {dt}\frac {dL} {d\dot r}=\frac {dL} {dr}## (I know there should be...

Hi. The #1 complaint about the Greiner series are the typos. It's a shame how it undermines the potential of this series which is, otherwise, highly acclaimed. Do you know where errata for any of these volumes can be found? Or perhaps those who have read some of the books could share their own...

I would like to ask if anyone has been admitted to a graduate school(US) straight to 2nd year after a theoretical masters MSc degree in the UK. I am asking because I would really like to study in the US, preferably on top universities but I don't want to waste another year taking essentially...

I'm a 4th year MPhys student currently finishing my undergrad. I will be attending a theoretical masters course next year at Kings. I have been declined by Imperial and Cambridge so I have started to get a little worried about my future. Even though I have been declined this year, is there any...

Hi! I found interesting post here: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/325762/how-efficient-are-leds However, it only gives the final results and not the steps he made. I tried to learn the formulas on wikipedia on my own but I couldn't figure out what variables need to have what...

So, basically I need a roadmap of the math required for nuclear theory. I've completed Calc (1-3) and teaching myself ODE. My roadmap currently is PDE, Complex Analysis, Linear Algebra and Numerical methods. I'm going to work through Arfkens 2nd edition of math methods. Any thing else I should...

Mentor Note -- Thread moved from the technical forums, so no Homework Template is shown. So, we've conducted an experiment on resistors in a circuit. The theoretical calculation was based of on E-24 series color band table and the measured resistance of the resistor was measured by a meter...

Hey Everyone. So basically I'm having tonnes of anxiety about my future and would like a bit of a reality check on where I stand and what I will be able to achieve. I go to one of the best universities in the US for undergrad Physics, yet my GPA is on the lower side (3.1). This university was...

Are the standards of studying/teaching methods same across different branches of theoretical physics like particle, astronomy and cosmology? For example we observe a lot of tours, events and conferences in institutes of astronomy and astrophysics, whereas particle and cosmologists are mostly...

So I had a topic which I would like to fact check from an informed scientific source. Basically there is an argument about whether or not an object that naturally exists in a fourth dimensional space, would by default have more than countably infinite times the energy of a 3 dimensional Object...

Hello, My question is what types of data analysis can I perform on a set of theoretical and experimental results? For example, I have v(x) = cos(x) and I plot my observed data to v(x). Thanks!

I'm a physics and math major, going into my 3rd year. Suppose I want to do research in theoretical aspects of condensed matter. What would be the mathematics I should be learning as an undergraduate? Here is a rundown of courses I'm considering taking next year: Abstract Algebra: it seems a...

I am worried that I am passionate about physics and yearn for a career in physics(through theoretical physics), and by a career I mean a placement in a prestigious institute and then be part of leading physics, but would that require sacrificing my entire 20s and even 30s or can I can get all...

Hey PF, In 1 month I am going to start my Bs.c thesis. I already "have" a mentor that is willing to supervise me and a topic. The topic is Bohmian Mechanics. I know its disliked, but that's not why I am asking this question. Tbh I'm not a great student, if I don't like something I will put...

so, assuming that you know all of the aspects of your theoretical generator, apart from the voltage and current, how would you work it out. I know that it is possible, but i can't find anything that I understand, or is even valid online. There should be some equations i can use to work it all...

Hi guys, I find it hard to decide what to work on. To give some background, I am a bachelor student and I want to work in theoretical research. I talked with a professor (he is the chief of the theory department) at my uni about this and he expects me to find a topic or an area of research for...

Is medical physics as informative as normal physics in terms of the courses I'll do in the University and can it be used as a pathway into medicine and surgery?