Recent content by dontbesilly

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    Schools Reputation of the Northwestern University physics department

    Oh, good to hear! I got worried there for a second.
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    Schools Reputation of the Northwestern University physics department

    Thanks! I did decide to go with Northwestern; good to hear it was a good choice.
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    Schools Reputation of the Northwestern University physics department

    Thanks for the reply. That's what I tend to think, but I'm kind of unsure. The program seems to be on the smaller side, and like I said I don't hear a lot about it...but its Northwestern for God's sake! It must be pretty darn good! Right? My dillimma is that I was admitted off of their waiting...
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    Schools Reputation of the Northwestern University physics department

    Really? Nobody? I guess I should take that as a bad sign lol.
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    Schools Reputation of the Northwestern University physics department

    Hey, sorry to start another thread on undergrad schools, but I was wondering if someone could give me a general idea on the reputation of the Northwestern University physics department. The school as a whole is generally well thought of as far as I can tell, but I don't ever hear much about...
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    Life After a Terrible Test: Majoring in a Field I Don't Like

    And let me tell ya, if Ed Witten can do it, then anybody can! ; ) "One test shouldn't determine my ultimate fate." You are correct. And it won't, as long as you don't let it!
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    Admissions Which offer of admission should I accept?

    Well, if you want my two cents, the UW physics program appeared excellent when I visited it. I don't know much about Penn State though.
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    Building insight on a particular topic

    Sounds to me like you are talking about the difference between doing something mechanically and actually understanding it. This is something that comes up a lot in my BC Calculus class. My classmates often have problems with certain things because they simply are not taught to understand things...
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    Is this a valid derivation of E=mc^2?

    Wait. I thought the equation was m'=\gamma m_0 Where did the c^2 come from? Isn't the relativistic mass proportional only to gamma and the invarient/rest mass?
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    Is this a valid derivation of E=mc^2?

    I did that yeah, but in a different order. I got rid of m' (or m2)*at the end, but same thing. Probably should have done it your way, would have been clearer. Sorry. And yes, the work energy theorem derivation you showed is obviously vastly superior. Thank you for showing it to me. As I said...
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    Testing Should I Take the SAT for College Admissions and Beyond?

    That troubles me too (of course it's too late for me). I only took the ACT (twice), and took the subject tests (Physics and Math 2). But I did not take the SAT I. I was talking to a Caltech representative at a college fair who said that I should really take the SAT if I plan on applying there. I...
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    Is this a valid derivation of E=mc^2?

    Yeah I know it varies by gamma, I used delta M to represent the difference between an object's relativistic mass due to some velocity and it's rest mass. I am simply using it because I want the equation to come out in terms of delta M and the rest mass. Maybe I should re-explain this, step by...
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    Is this a valid derivation of E=mc^2?

    Ah, thank you. I figured it was some simple calc method, but I had no idea how to go about that. I would still like to know if my argument is valid. Basically what I'm saying is that you can formulate an equation for kinetic energy based on mass and relativistic mass. Thats step one. The second...
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    Is this a valid derivation of E=mc^2?

    I'm just a high school student and thus not particularly knowledgeble about special relativity. However, I've always wanted to find a derivation of the famous equation E=MC^2. I could never find one in textbooks or on the web that didnt rely on oversimplifications or unexplained steps, so I...
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    Other Should I Become a Mathematician?

    I've heard this said before...that proofs have been removed from geometry classes. That was not true for me. I took it back in 2003/2004 and we proved everything we did, all the time. Most of our work infact involved proofs, or constructions if I recall correctly. Of course, I live in a pretty...
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