Recent content by hutchphd

Yes. This arrangement allows longer use of the basttery at the end of its (charge) lifetime as the terminal voltage declines.

I agree with @berkeman that this isually bad practice. Just use 2 cells in series (what does the third actually do for you?) Shortly before my departure from the company, I once spent most of an afternoon trying to convince my idiot boss that no, one could not get more energy out of a batttery...

What is the sound of one hand clapping ? You need to ask the Zen forum. Here folks do math. The concept of "phase" refers to each harmonic componenti ndividually. Unless and until you understand the math of Fourier analysis, youe will be confused. and stay confused. What you are saying...

Might I suggest that sound is rather a complicated system, as is light This is why most textbooks initiate the study of wave behavior using transverse waves on a tensioned string. I would recommend a similar approach for your edification. Otherwise it rapidly becomes the study of everything...

Absolutely . You need to be able to really understand and manipute Fourier synthesis to be conversant in this subject. In that sense the phase is a well defined entity and is "the same" for every circumstance. For instance an acoustic phase shift proportional to frequency will simply shift...

When one has doubt there are good ways to allay it. In this case can you provide for yourself another good plausability argument (The one you use is good enough for me...). Conversely you could assume that the alternative answer is correct and show it leads to nonsense like perpetual motion...

This is absolutely true but only for transients. Please see #7 above. All isolated conductors have a "self-capacitance" and will absorb or emit charge to match the local electrical potential. This is why one recieves a shock when discharging static buildup through a single finger. Such...

There is no "circuit" and therefore no time when it is "established". There is a date of manufacture on the battery.....perhaps a time when wires were attached. See circuit. If one closes the circuit (switch in this hypothetical case) things will change to a new steady-state configuration...

By your reasoning, any battery on the shelf should be continuously discharging. There is no path in your circuit.

Did you read the Nasa tutorial?

I remember these as having a slight designed tilt to the axis. This allowed the budding physicists in the cohort to "pump" them to impressiive speeds by leaning out at the top and moving toward the axle center axle at the bottom.: repeat as needed. The speed was limited only by the inability...

Please be aware that the 365 days in a year is an approximate number (good to ~3 sig fig so the appropriate scientific notation answer would be $$1~LIGHT~YEAR~=5.87x10^{12} mi$$. There is probably an official value certified by the ministry of unfathomable distances........

It is a fundamental truth that Physics can only prove a theory wrong. That is the way it works, much to the consternation of those who do not undrstand the scientific method. But you only need one verified wrong to negate the whole house of cards. A million correct predictions makes you...

Please answer the question posed by @Vanadium 50 .

The actual Feynman path integral is a weighted sum over all paths in a configuration space. The extremal states are selected by the path integral essentially because of stationary phase so your question is difficult to decipher because of the confused preamble.