Recent content by connorb1542

i think I've gotten a satisfactory response, thanks to all who responded!

ah, ok. thank you. I am still not completely certain of the relation between permeability and a spherical volume

i just graduated from high school, and i took a calculus-based e&m class (AP physics c). unfortunately we didnt cover maxwell's equations together in one place with respect to electromagnetic waves, only independently with emphasis on problem-solving and not theory. so as I'm looking, I'm seeing...

so then if the constants are derived experimentally, and mu is not just a result of how we define the ampere, I go back to my first question: why pi? where does the pi come from?

True, but then why is it that 1/sqrt(με) is equal to the speed of light? How is it that two arbitrarily defined constants can be combined in this way to produce the speed of light?

I'm not asking a question of what is permeability, but rather why is pi involved in its definition of 4pi x10^-7? As far as I know, pi is generally only used whenever dealing with a circle. How does the idea of magnetism relate to a circle?

thanks for the input! @micromass - I am become grammar, the corrector of sentences!

Two things i should clarify: 1.) I find math interesting because i enjoy problem solving. In this sense, i also love math because i love being able to describe real-world phenomena with equations(ie, physics). 2.) I want to continue into graduate school for physics. I am not sure exactly...

Also, here is a link to Computational and Applied Mathematics course offerings http://courses.rice.edu/admweb/swkscat.main?p_action=CATALIST&p_acyr_code=2012&p_subj=CAAM

Hi, I am entering Rice University this fall as a Physics major, with the intention of double-majoring in Mathematics. Although I'd like to take every math class they have to offer, I need some advice on which math classes are crucial in providing a mathematical foundation and possibly a timeline...

Also, what is a good capacitance to shoot for- that is, the one that would yield the best results? Is the nanofarad range a good goal?

The thing with ceramics and similar substances is that I'm afraid they'll be too heavy to oscillate.

In my high school calculus-based electricity class two students and I are trying to create a demo where we set up a parallel plate capacitor and have some dielectric material inside it that we can pull out slightly, and have it oscillate into and out of the capacitor. Some ideas we have...

Thank you Vanadium What are REUs?

Yes, and I intend to do undergraduate research. I want to go to a school that has a strong theory group that I can be a part of. For example, Rice University deals quite strictly with experimental physics, so there would be no theory group for me to do research with at that university.