Recent content by DeepQ

Smokee77, it's a good question. What I think you'll find is that there's no "perfect reflector" similar to no "prefect conductor" of electricity. There's always some resistance, which ends up converting to heat. (Of course, someone will point out superconductors, those nearly perfect conductors...

That's a good reference, thanks. But, it would also be nice to see that full story expanded beyond solids to include liquids and gases. Certainly, density plays a roll in the available phononic modes, but it would be interesting to understand, for example, how water obtains its index.

The topic of this thread is an excellent question, but overall the replies contain numerous false statements, so beginners need to be careful drawing conclusions from this discussion. For example, it should not be concluded that all gases have no color in our visible spectrum. Fluorine is...

Wave reinforcement beats paved reinforcement every time. Nice topic. An interesting PhD paper lurking in there somewhere.

There is a million volt line that runs from Utah to Southern California. What makes it possible is that it's DC! Only resistive losses. As you enter the LA area, you pass by the power station that converts it back to AC. The local impulse EM radiation is intense. 1800 MW power. Blanks out...

In the past, I've just used film. You photograph (with B/W film) a few dark lines on white paper, then use the negative (clear lines on dark) for the slits. It works quite well and gives you precise control over the spacing and size of the slits. You can easily do multiple slits, other...

Yes. But, I used the word nature rather than space, because I did not want to imply only three dimensions. Much of what comes about involves time. Without time, a lot would be missing. Yes, those are fundamental - in the classical mindset. Then the issue becomes: how are they related? (If...

Here is an answer with a classical background: the electric field is something fundamental. It is a property of nature, and it is mediated by that nature. For a layman to understand it? Perhaps use the thin rubber membrane model (a fun one). A negative charge deflects the membrane in one...

You sure ask really deep questions for someone with no science education. :rolleyes:

Some laser pointers already come with little attachments that screw onto the end and produce the interference patterns. If you look at those attachments closely, you'll see variations of the "slit" method used to do it.

Yes, thanks. Before asking the question, I considered the Larmor and Bremsstrahlung approaches. Problem has been Larmor is classic, so "Where's the quanta?" (Where's the beef?) Bremsstrahlung as braking radiation is really more like a collision radiation resulting from sudden radical...

Do you mean "free" as within the bands of a conductor or in as in a vacuum? The former "net drift" travels at almost c, dependent on the material. The latter can be controlled as desired (e.g. 40% of c), but not 100%.

That is an interesting description. Dirac and others rely on the model of a harmonic oscillator. But, that is just one case of acceleration. I am curious about a simple non-harmonic case such as this: If I accelerate an electron by, say, a gravitational field, what do I get? Classic EM...

Yes, thanks. That's why I mentioned "others". But, did Claus Jönsson prove it for single electrons? (I've not read the paper.)

Yes... but, I've only found the classical descriptions no QM in Griffiths and Feynman (lecture notes). I cannot find it addressed by Sakurai, Shankar, or Zee (although it could be there somewhere). Dirac QM chap X (Radiation) comes at it from a hard-to-interpret perspective.