Recent content by BigD

You might have calculated the reciprocal of the transmission coefficient by accident, or just made a miscalculation. Are you trying to calculate it for a square barrier or a general barrier?

Are you sure you have the right equations? I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think there should be square root in the second relevant equation. Also I think the problem would make more sense if one of the square roots was outside the derivative on one of the sides of the original equation.

1. I started by changing the frame of reference to the planets center of mass so that the dust moves at speed v. I assumed that at some perpendicular distance R' from the trajectory of the planet the dust particles would just barely miss the planet and that they would pass at the radius of the...

The circle I mentioned was not an orbit; it was the cross section swept out by the planet. I could really use some help on this.

I didn't.

Homework Statement A uniform, spherical planet of mass M and radius R moves SLOWLY with an essentially uniform speed v through a cloud of interstellar dust particles, whose density is ρ. The dust particles are attracted towards the planet, and some of them would eventually fall onto its...

Thank you. I actually haven't finished 4-year yet, but I love reading things beyond my level. P.S. Thanks for the quick laugh.

It is suggested that I learn a computation oriented programming language for an physics internship which I hope to apply for soon. I'm curious; what is the most commonly used programming language in the physics community? I've heard that Fortran has been used extensively for a some time, but...

I have spent the majority of my life searching for something worth doing. I study and contemplate daily in hopes that I may be able to make informed decisions. I constantly try to determine what I value most in life; however, more and more it seems that nothing really has any value. I have...

Thank you. Have experimentalists been unable to determine which of the two fits better as of yet?

Why would you hate the uncertainty principle? Does it really matter that much if reality is not deterministic? And, as far as I know, quantum theory does not make determinism impossible, it just puts limits on what we can know.

I think you've got a little bit of overkill there.

A 12 gauge pump-action shotgun with an extended magazine would probably be the most effective, but I would definitely have to go with the chainsaw for its fun factor.

I really enjoyed learning general relativity, though it did take quite a lot of thinking at the time to understand the type of curvature that was indicated by the equations. The equations are delightful once you can picture the corresponding curvature in your head.

My favorite sci-fi book is Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark. I would recommend reading that if you haven't already.