What is Asymmetry: Definition and 67 Discussions

Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in precise terms or in more aesthetic terms. The absence of or violation of symmetry that are either expected or desired can have important consequences for a system.

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  1. L

    Probability Distributions and asymmetry

    Homework Statement In a scattering experiment to measure the polarization of an elementary particle, a total of N = 1000 particles was scattered from a target. of these, 670 were observed to scattered to the right and 330 to the left. Assume there is no uncertainty in NL + NR = 1000 a)...
  2. J

    Twin Paradox with no asymmetry

    Twin "Paradox" with no asymmetry Here is another variation of the twin paradox. Suppose we let both twins start their journey from a space station far from any heavenly bodies, so that the whole experiment can be carried out in free space. The twins Jack and John are equipped with identical...
  3. K

    Examples of asymmetry in (non-biological) nature

    Hello all, I am writing an article on symmetry in the living vs. non-living worlds, and I am looking for inorganic/non-biological examples of asymmetrical structures or relations at the molecular level and higher, similar to the kinds seen in biological systems. For example: The natural...
  4. bcrowell

    Asymmetry in black hole formation, and a possible hand-wavy no-hair theorem

    Suppose that we have an ellipsoidal shell of particles, all initially at rest in some frame, which are going to collapse to form a black hole. Since the cloud has a nonvanishing mass quadrupole moment Q, and Q is varying with time, we should get gravitational radiation. First let's consider...
  5. DaveC426913

    Medical Body asymmetry - a personal study

    Do you know things like the back of your hand? How well do you know the back of your hand? I noticed the veins on the backs of my hands are asymmetrical. On both hands I have 3 large veins, one coming from between each pair of fingers. By the time they reach my wrists, they have converged...
  6. C

    CP symmetry violation and matter antimatter asymmetry

    anyone know what research is being done in CP symmetry violations and Matter Antimatter Asymmetry currently?
  7. S

    What was the Time of Baryon Asymmetry After the Big Bang?

    Anyone knows at what time after big bang, baryon asymmetry happened..i read in Simon singh's book "Big Bang" that there was more mater than antimatter when the temperature of universe was 10^15...anyone knows about the time at which it happened?
  8. J

    Does group theory deal with asymmetry?

    I have a question from which you should notice that I do not have much of a clue abot group theory. At least not yet. The question is about that many introductory articles about group theory seem to refer to the use of group theory with rotations of bodies and their related symmetry. What...
  9. S

    Baryon asymmetry and conservation of charge

    I am confused with baryon asymmetry and conservation of charge..we say that there is baryon asymmetry but the universe is neutral..how is that possible..if there is baryon asymmetry then there should be charge asymmetry also? I think i am missing some point..can someone explain these two in...
  10. michael879

    What could explain the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe?

    I had a thought the other day regarding this "mystery". First, assume MWI is true (for the sake of the argument). If MWI is true, then all universes that have some probability of existing given the initial conditions of the big bang do exist. Now imagine that the symmetry between matter and...
  11. I

    Is Every Asymmetric Relation Also Antisymmetric?

    I ran across the following statement, in a tutorial on logic, If R is an asymmetric relation then R is antisymmetric. Perhaps, the above is true. I will attempt to argue it is not. Okay, then suppose R really is asymmetric, for example the relation (<) So for an arbitrary (c,d) c < d...
  12. N

    Q: What is the role of axial vector coupling in e+e- annihilation?

    I understand the following: The cross section \frac{d\sigma}{d(cos \theta )} (e^+e^- \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^-) \propto 1 + cos^2 \theta for a purely vectorial (electromagnetic) interaction. Hence \sigma is expected to be symetric in cos \theta. The axial vector (weak) coupling of the Z...
  13. S

    Baryon Asymmetry: Why is Matter More Abundant?

    Its said that matter is more abundant than antimatter in observable universe and hence comes the baryon asymmetry...but why matter and antimatter should be equal in amount...which law governs this?
  14. S

    Tension-Compression Asymmetry in FCC

    Hello, FCC metals experience significant tension-compression asymmetry because of the comparatively limited number of slip systems that act under compression, compared to tension, right? Thanks, -scott
  15. Loren Booda

    Introducing asymmetry into physics

    The arrow of time is a most common example of an overall direction in physics, although Newtonian, relativistic and quantum physics do not derive a preferred symmetry. If chaos also fails here, is there any alternative mathematical description of nature that allows a representation of a...
  16. marcus

    Matter-antimatter asymmetry generated by LQG

    Meteor just posted a link in the "surrogate sticky" LQG referemce library to an article by Parampreet Singh. https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=142798#post142798 A propos of Singh, he has had several interesting articles recently relating LQG and the big bang---using Loop...
  17. Loren Booda

    Physical asymmetry from symmetry

    I recall that in their most basic form, quantum mechanics and relativity do not distinguish between past and future. That is, they are each symmetric with respect to time. How then does a unified theory account for temporal assymetries in nature without introducing new physics? Can one...
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