Tag Archive for: Graduate

epsresults

Find Out the Results Shown at 2017 CERN EPS Conference

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7 Comments
The EPS conference was a week ago, and many new results and future plans were shown. A good general overview has been collected by Paris Sphicas in his…
m-theory

Super p-Brane Theory Emerging from Super Homotopy Theory

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6 Comments
  A notorious open problem: What is the non-perturbative theory formerly known as Strings?We still have no fundamental formulation of “M-theory”…
entanglement_entropy2

Lesson on Entanglement Entropy in Quantum Field Theory

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3 Comments
Part 1: Quantum Mechanics[This article expects the reader to have some experience with quantum field theory and path integrals][I should also…
entanglement_entropy

Learn Entanglement Entropy in Quantum Mechanics

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22 Comments
Quantum Mechanics(QM) is one of the greatest intellectual achievements in human history. Not only because it describes the world at the microscopic level…
deriitive4

The Pantheon of Derivatives – Lie Derivatives And Others (IV)

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  Lie Derivatives A Lie derivative is in general the differentiation of a tensor field along a vector field. This allows several applications…
deriitive3

The Pantheon of Derivatives – Sections, Pullbacks And Pushforwards (III)

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  Some Topology Whereas the terminology of vector fields, trajectories, and flows almost by itself suggests its origins and physical relevance,…
deriitive2

The Pantheon of Derivatives – Manifolds And Vector Fields (II)

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  Generalizations Beyond ##\mathbb{R}## and ##\mathbb{C}## As mentioned in the section on complex functions (The Pantheon of Derivatives - Part…
quantumflux

Learn About Vacuum Fluctuations in Experimental Practice

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41 Comments
Introduction and context This Insight Article is a sequel of the Insight Articles ”The Physics of Virtual Particles”, “Misconceptions about Virtual…
highercategorytheory

Why Higher Category Theory in Physics?

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30 Comments
 This here is my personal story. For an alternative introduction see my talk: Higher Structures in Mathematics and Physics.Initially,…
SchwarzschildGeometry4

The Schwarzschild Geometry: Physically Reasonable?

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33 Comments
 In the last article, we looked at various counterintuitive features of the Schwarzschild spacetime geometry, as illustrated in the Kruskal-Szekeres…
SchwarzschildGeometry3

The Schwarzschild Geometry: Spacetime Diagrams

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12 Comments
 When we left off in part 2, we were looking at the metric for the Schwarzschild geometry in Kruskal-Szekeres coordinates:$$ ds^2 = \frac{32…
SchwarzschildGeometry2

The Schwarzschild Geometry: Coordinates

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2 Comments
 At the end of part 1, we looked at the form the metric of the Schwarzschild geometry takes in Gullstrand-Painleve coordinates:$$ ds^2…
SchwarzschildGeometry1

The Schwarzschild Geometry: Key Properties

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22 Comments
 Not long after Einstein published his Field Equation, the first exact solution was found by Karl Schwarzschild. This solution is one of the…
representations

Linear Representations and Why Precision is Important in Math

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2 Comments
First of all: What is a representation? It is the description of a mathematical object like a Lie group or a Lie algebra by its actions on another space…
vaccummyth

Explore The Vacuum Fluctuation Myth in Quantum Theory

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230 Comments
This Insight Article is a sequel of the Insight Articles ”The Physics of Virtual Particles” and “Misconceptions about Virtual Particles“ which…
anyon

Learn The Main Conceptual Ideas of Anyon Particles

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55 Comments
Every quantum physicist knows that all particles are either bosons or fermions. And the standard textbook argues that this so does not depend on the number…
relativitygauge

Exploring General Relativity as a Gauge Theory

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24 Comments
The fundamental interactions of the Standard Model are described by Yang-Mills theory. This is a gauge theory, which means the following: (1) Choose a…
davidhestenes

David Hestenes on Geometric Algebra: Applications & Learning

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14 Comments
For those who don't know the great David Hestenes, he is the inventor of the geometric algebra formalism of physics. Here we go!1) What is the…
quantumparticle

Spectral Standard Model and String Compactifications

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28 Comments
 The Connes-Lott-Chamseddine-Barrett model is the observation that the standard model of particle physics -- as a classical action functional,…
cmbprimer4

A Poor Man’s CMB Primer: Cosmic Acoustics

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1 Comment
 Before decoupling, photons and charged particles were in good thermal contact: though the primordial plasma might have varied in temperature…
spacetimecon

Struggles with the Continuum: Spacetime Conclusion

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4 Comments
 We've been looking at how the continuum nature of spacetime poses problems for our favorite theories of physics --- problems with infinities.…
11dgravity

11d Gravity From Just the Torsion Constraint

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17 Comments
 It is familiar that Einstein gravity may be formulated in terms of a vielbein field together with a "spin connection", subject to the constraint…
spacetime7

Struggles with the Continuum: General Relativity

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2 Comments
 Combining electromagnetism with relativity and quantum mechanics led to QED. Last time we saw the immense struggles with the continuum this…
Supersymmetry

Learn About Supersymmetry and Deligne’s Theorem

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54 Comments
 In 2002, Pierre Deligne proved a remarkable theorem on what mathematically is called Tannakian reconstruction of tensor categories. Here…
Schwarzschild

Learn Orbital Precession in the Schwarzschild and Kerr Metrics

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7 Comments
The Schwarzschild Metric A Lagrangian that can be used to describe geodesics is [itex]F = g_{\mu\nu}v^\mu v^\mu[/itex], where [itex]v^\mu = dx^\mu/ds[/itex]…
spacetimetetrad

Tetrad Formalism: Ricci Coefficients & Riemann Tensor

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1 Comment
Tetrads and Notation A spacetime is often described in terms of a tetrad field, that is, by giving a set of basis vectors at each point. Let the vectors…
omissionguage

Why the Gauge (Henstock-Kurzweil) Integral Matters

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31 Comments
The gauge integral (Henstock–Kurzweil) The current (pure) mathematics curriculum at the university is well-established. Most of the choices made are…
polymer

DNA Mapping & Nanopore Sequencing: Nanochannel Insights

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4 Comments
Introduction A single DNA molecule snaking its way through an array of cavities. This movie is from one of my later Ph.D. experiments. …
Brachistochrone

Explaining the General Brachistochrone Problem

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3 Comments
Consider a problem about the curve of fastest descent in the following generalized statement. Suppose that we have a Lagrangian system $$L(x,\dot x)=\frac{1}{2}g_{ij}(x)\dot…

A Black Hole Problem From Greg Egan’s “Incandescence”

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8 Comments
The following problem was inspired by reading Greg Egan's "Incadescence".  Consider a body, orbiting a Schwarzschild black hole and tide locked to it,…
selfstudyanalysis

Advanced Real Analysis: Measure & Functional Study Plan

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14 Comments
Prerequisites If you wish to follow this guide, you should be familiar with analysis on ##\mathbb{R}## and ##\mathbb{R}^n##. See my previous insight for…
virtualparticlesmyths

Top Misconceptions about Virtual Particles

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1 Comment
Introduction This Insight Article is a sequel to the Insight Article ''The Physics of Virtual Particles'', which contains an exposition of definitions…
quantumentanglement

How the EPR Paradox Fits Between Entanglement and Nonlocality

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11 Comments
If we violate a Bell inequality, we know we have quantum entanglement, and it used to be thought that these two notions were one and the same.At least,…
Newton-Cartan-Theory

Newton-Cartan Theory: Newtonian Gravity as Curved Spacetime

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12 Comments
Newtonian limit and spacetime curvature It's a calculation that you can find in any textbook on General Relativity (GR): when gravity is weak and does…
virtualparticles

Learn the Physics of Virtual Particles in Quantum Mechanics

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33 Comments
In discussions on the internet (including a number of Wikipedia pages) and in books and articles for non-experts in particle physics, there is considerable…
qminterpret

QM Interpretations: Semantics, Meaning & Probability

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12 Comments
Introduction Many times, we encounter ourselves tangled in some Quantum Mechanics (QM) interpretations debates. Unfortunately, the standard of discussion…
spacetime6

Struggles with the Continuum – Freeman Dyson and QED

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24 Comments
 Last time I sketched how physicists use quantum electrodynamics, or 'QED', to compute answers to physics problems as power series in the…
islingmodel

High Temperature and Low Duality for the Ising Model on an Infinite Regular Tree

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1 Comment
Today I felt like sharing a computation that I thought was interesting. I'm sure I'm not the first to explore the Ising-Ising duality in this context,…
spacetime5

Struggles with the Continuum: Quantum Electrodynamics

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  Quantum field theory is the best method we have for describing particles and forces in a way that takes both quantum mechanics…
spacetime4

Struggles with the Continuum – Relativity and Quantum

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5 Comments
 In this series, we're looking at mathematical problems that arise in physics due to treating spacetime as a continuum---basically, problems…
Retrocausality

Understanding Retrocausality and Blockworld

In an Insights series “Blockworld and its Foundational Implications,” I quoted Huw Price and Ken Wharton in several places advocating a blockworld…
blockuniverse5

Blockworld and its Foundational Implications: Delayed Choice and No Counterfactual Definiteness

 In parts 1 and 2 of this 5-part Insights series, I explained the blockworld (BW) implication of special relativity. In part 3, I introduced…
prequantum4

Examples of Prequantum Field Theories IV: Wess-Zumino-Witten-type Theories

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4 Comments
  At the end of this page, we will have come full circle back to the first article in the series 20 years ago -- The M-Theory Conjecture.We…
prequantum3

Examples of Prequantum Field Theories III: Chern-Simons-type Theories

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  After having constructed gauge fields and higher gauge fields in the previous article by systems of ##L_\infty##-algebroid-valued…
guagetheory

Examples of Prequantum Field Theories II: Higher Gauge Fields

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   After having recalled ordinary gauge fields from a dg-algebraic perspective in the previous article, here I discuss…
prequantumft

Examples of Prequantum Field Theories I: Gauge Fields

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  After having motivated the need for prequantum field theory and having laid out its principles (i. extremal action, ii. global…
prequantumgeometry5

Higher Prequantum Geometry V: The Local Observables – Lie Theoretically

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1 Comment
 This article discusses how the previous considerations naturally follow the concepts of local observables of local field theories and of…
prequantumgeometry4

Higher Prequantum Geometry IV: The Covariant Phase Space – Transgressively

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13 Comments
  The Euler-Lagrange ##p##-gerbes discussed in the previous article are singled out as being exactly the right coherent refinement…
prequantumgeometry3

Higher Prequantum Geometry III: The Global Action Functional – Cohomologically

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9 Comments
  The previous article ended with the concept of classical locally variational field theories, of which a class of examples are…
prequantumgeometry2

Higher Prequantum Geometry II: The Principle of Extremal Action – Comonadically

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1 Comment
  The previous article motivated the importance of considering "pre-quantum field theory" in-between classical and quantum field…
prequantumgeometry

Higher Prequantum Geometry I: The Need for Prequantum Geometry

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18 Comments
 Before proceeding with a discussion of the super p-brane sigma models, whose emergence from the superpoint I discussed in the previous article,…
gravity3

Does Gravity Gravitate: The Wave

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17 Comments
 In the first two posts in this series, we looked at different ways of interpreting the question "does gravity gravitate?" We left off at…
gravitate2

Does Gravity Gravitate? Part 2

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 In the first post of this series, I talked about two ways to answer the title question, one leading to the answer "no" and the other leading…
gravitate

Does Gravity Gravitate?

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9 Comments
 The title question of this article is one that often comes up in PF threads, and I would like to give my take on it. This will be the first…
spacetime4

Struggles With the Continuum: Point Particles and the Electromagnetic Field

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20 Comments
 In these posts, we're seeing how our favorite theories of physics deal with the idea that space and time are a continuum, with points described…
spacetime2

Struggles With The Continuum: Quantum Mechanics of Charged Particles

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39 Comments
 Last time we saw that nobody yet knows if Newtonian gravity, applied to point particles, truly succeeds in predicting the future. To be precise:…
spacetime

Is Spacetime Really a Continuum?

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29 Comments
  Introduction Is spacetime really a continuum?  That is, can points of spacetime really be described---at least locally---by lists of four…
supergravity

Emergence From the Superpoint

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6 Comments
 In the previous article we saw that the generalization of super-Lie algebras to homotopy super-Lie n-algebras (super L-infinity algebras)…
blackholesforce

An Equation for the Centrifugal Force Reversal Near A Black Hole

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15 Comments
My goal in this article is to derive a simple equation for the proper acceleration of an observer traveling on a circular path around a Schwarzschild black…
liealgebra

Homotopy Lie-n Algebras in Supergravity

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1 Comment
 The previous article in this series claimed that the mathematics of the 21st century that had fallen into the 1970s in the form of string…
birktheo

Learn A Short Proof of Birkhoff’s Theorem

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8 Comments
Birkhoff's theorem is a very useful result in General Relativity, and pretty much any textbook has a proof of it. The one I first read was in Misner, Thorne,…
string theory

It Was 20 Years Ago Today — the M-theory Conjecture

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2 Comments
  While the world didn't end, after all, 15 years back at the turn of the millennium, in hindsight it is curious that, almost unnoticed,…
physics course

CV Tips for Physicists: Secure Postdoc & Research Jobs

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1 Comment
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... Series Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year…
physics doctoral

Postdoctoral Positions: How to Succeed as a Physicist

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1 Comment
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... Series Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year…
physics jobs

Physics PhD Job Search: Start Well Before Graduation

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3 Comments
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... Series Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year…
measuringentanglement

Can You Measure Quantum Entanglement?

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What is Quantum Entanglement? Though any pair of particles, given their history, might happen to be entangled, some pairs are more entangled than others. …
thesis defense

Preparing for Your Physics PhD Thesis Defense Effectively

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Overview: The Thesis Defense At this point you have completed writing your thesis, your adviser has approved it, and you have distributed it to all members…
doctoral thesis

Writing Your Doctoral Thesis: Guide for Physics Grad

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2 Comments
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... Series Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year…
qftintegrals

Some Useful Integrals In Quantum Field Theory

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2 Comments
In my paper on renormalisation I mentioned what most who have studied calculations in Quantum Field Theory find, it's rather complicated and mind-numbing.…
oral presentation2

APS March & April Meetings: Guide for Physics Grad Students

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Overview of the APS March and April Meetings I'll try not to make a habit out of this, but I believe there's something to add to this chapter of the…
physics journals2

How to Publish in a Physics Journal (Addendum)

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Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... SeriesPart I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year of College …
physics journals

How to Publish Your PhD Research in Physics Journals

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3 Comments
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... Series Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year…
lab work

Research Ethics for Physicists: Keep a Detailed Lab Notebook

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20 Comments
Starting Your Research and Keeping Good Records Now, where were we? Oh yes — you have started your actual research work. You and your adviser have…
research work

Initiating Physics PhD Research: Getting Started Effectively

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1 Comment
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... Series Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year…
advisor research

Choosing a Physics Research Advisor in Graduate School

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1 Comment
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... Series Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year…
perbation theory

Introduction to Causal Perturbation Theory

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30 Comments
Relativistic quantum field theory is notorious for the occurrence of divergent expressions that must be renormalized by recipes that on first sight sound…
grad exam

Pass Physics Grad Qualifying Exams: Strategies & Plan

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2 Comments
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... SeriesPart I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year of College …
cheshirecat

Weak Values Part 2: The Quantum Cheshire Cat Experiment

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0 Comments
In a previous Insight, Weak Values Part 1: "Asking Photons Where They Have Been," I showed different methods for computing the relative intensities in…
askingphotons

Weak Values Part 1: Asking Photons Where They Have Been

In a previous Insight on retrocausality, I explained an experiment by Danan, Farfurnik, Bar-Ad, and Vaidman (DFBV)[1], “Asking Photons Where They Have…
publishing in journals

Guide to Publishing in Peer Reviewed Journals

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7 Comments
From Concept to Manuscript You've done the science.  You had an idea, performed an extensive literature review, designed an experiment, ran the experiment,…
renormalization2

Why Renormalisation in Quantum Theory Needs a Cutoff

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31 Comments
Introduction This is a follow on from my paper explaining renormalization. A question was raised - why exactly do we need a cut-off. There is a deep reason…
before grad school

Physics Graduate Assistantships: TA vs RA Explained

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1 Comment
Full Chapter List - So You Want To Be A Physicist... SeriesPart I: Early Physics Education in High schools Part II: Surviving the First Year of College …
renormalization

Quantum Renormalisation Made Easy

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24 Comments
What Is The Issue With Renormalisation If you have an interest in physics you have likely come across renormalisation before, although what it really…
redlights

Learn About the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger Experiment

In two previous Insights, I shared Mermin's explanation of the Hardy experiment[1] and the Mermin device[2]. Both of his corresponding AJP papers presented…
micro1

Hrbacek–Jech 1.2: Formal Language and WFFs Explained

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Hrbacek–Jech Chapter 1.2: Formal Language and WFFs Introduction Hrbacek and Jech do not go into full detail about what a property is formally. This…