Recent content by brianparks

Thanks for the reply, Rindech. Prior to boiling, the surface water molecules do not have enough kinetic energy to overcome the vanderwaals forces in the liquid (as well as the external pressure on the liquid). Boiling starts to occur when the surface water molecules gain enough kinetic...

When water changes phase from liquid to gas, what is actually happening at a molecular level? I have heard the general explanation that enough kinetic energy is imparted to the surface water molecules to allow them to "breaK" free from the dipole forces that hold them in the liquid. Sort...

Good point. I screwed that up. Anyway, does my question make any sense?

I am having serious difficulty understanding the concept of the equilibrium constant in a reversible chemical reaction. Maybe one of you all can help? Suppose we have the following reversible chemical reaction: 1) aA + bB <---> cC + dD The equilibrium constant for the reaction is said...

I am currently working through section 2.5 of Griffiths' electrodynamics, specifically the part which deals with electrostatic pressure in conductors. I encountered the following question (question 2.39, or 2.38 in earlier versions): A metal sphere of radius R carries a total charge Q...

Thanks for the responses... Gazzo: I don't know how much time I can cut off. I've taken all the filler classes--history, philosophy, economics, anthropology, computer science, and so on. So my hope would be to transfer the extraneous "elective" credits and take only physics classes for the...

Dr. Transport, Thanks for the info. I intend to pursue the degree full-time when I get out of the navy, so hopefully the concerns you mention won't pose a problem. Best wishes, --Brian

Hello, I completed Officer Nuclear Power School and Prototype, and currently serve onboard a nuclear submarine, so I could probably help answer any questions that you had. brianparks@txucom.net Best wishes, --Brian

Hello all, Over the past few years, I have developed a love affair with physics. I want to pursue further education in the field, but my problem is that I (regretfully) majored in computer science as an undergraduate. Though I have studied a lot of math and physics on my own, the most that...

Testing... \Vec{v}(x,y,z)=\frac{1}{x^2+y^2+z^2}(x\Vec{i}+y\Vec{j}+z\Vec{k}) \frac{\partial v_x}{\partial x} =-\frac{2x^2}{(x^2+y^2+z^2)^2}+\frac{1}{x^2+y^2+z^2}= \frac{-2x^2}{r^4} + \frac{1}{r^2} In the same way, \frac{\partial v_y}{\partial y}...

But doesn't the field weaken as you move radially outward? If so, wouldn't that mean that the divergence is negative? Maybe my understanding of divergence is wrong. Consider this function: v = 1 / x^2x From 0 to infinity, it would look like this...

In introducing the dirac-delta function, my electrodynamics discusses the following function: v = 1 / r^2r The text states that "at every location, v is directed radially outward; if there ever was a function that ought to have a large positive divergence, this is it. And yet, when you...

Pervect, Thanks for your reply.

Would anyone be willing to explain Stokes' Theorem to me? I have managed to grasp the concepts of grad, div, curl, and what the text calls "green's theorem", but I cannot seem to grasp the geometric meaning of "stokes theorem." I've been trying to put the theorem together based on the...

Thanks for the responses. Would it be correct to say, then, that if the power line were constant DC, that the same "lighting" effect would not occur?