Recent content by EmpaDoc

Well, now I was actually thinking: "I can get the time consumption down to O(N) if I draw a line that passes close enough to all the points, without optimizing it at all". I donät think that can be done if I make an actual fit... The cost-benefit analysis here depends, obviously, on my...

I'm realizing that the correct answer depends very much on what kind of application one is thinking of and how much you are willing to sacrifice in accuracy. I found a solution that works for *my* purposes, but strictly speaking it's not a fit anymore... One increases the interval point by...

Good point - and quite obvious when you think of it. :D That way I don't even have to retain the unwanted parameter L_0. Thanks!

I have a time series of data that I want to interpolate using a piecewise linear function. The lengths of the linear pieces should be adaptive such that the maximum error of the points in the interval does not exceed a predetermined value Max_R. I guess the specification boils down to: Find a...

Wow, just writing to note that my post has sparked quite a lively discussion where almost nobody replied "But on average you lose!". The more I think of it, I realize that the important question - if you are really in it for the chance of winning - is not what the expectation value is, but...

Some people educated in math say, "I never buy a lottery ticket or play the roulette because I know that on average, you are bound to lose." I don't think that argument is valid - because in most games of chance you are not very likely to end up with the expectancy value! Indeed, if you have a...

First question, the (simplified) answer is that: They have the same de Broglie wavelength. Otherwise it would not be a BEC. (In fact, they need not have a definite dB wavelength; but they should all be in the *same quantum state* which can be a superposition of different wavelengths.)...

The equipartition theorem applies only in the classical limit. I.e., when (on average) the molecules are excited to high quantum numbers.

You're not happy with the entries on wikipedia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_theorem"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_theorem[/PLAIN] John Bell essentially addressed the concern that you are expressing. It has been shown that all the simple kinds of deterministic underlying physics are incompatible with observed facts. After...

Well, that depends on what the obstacle is. In any everyday situation, the potential will ultimately be due to the electromagnetic interaction between the electron (if we are considering an electron) and the electrons and protons in the material. It could be a conductor or a semiconductor or...

I think you put it well. There is no consensus in physics about "the fundamental question". Particle physicists would argue that it's something like "how to combine relativity and QM", which would then hopefully lead to the "theory of everything" governing the behavior of all fundamental...

I see you are struggling to understand what all this wave business means. First let me say that I don't understand why you want to postulate two kinds of wave. Quantum mechanics knows only one kind of wave, namely, the wavefunction of a particle (or of a system of particles). Call it matter...

Well, one can elaborate on this. When you are asked to calculate the trajectory of a cannon ball in Newtonian mechanics, you know that the theory is applicable - in the sense that the answer is going to be accurate to within a certain number of decimals. However, for electrons orbiting...

Of course, you'll have all these questions answered when you enter an undergraduate course on quantum mechanics. Including lots of problem solving, that's the proper way to learn this! But OK, here goes. :) The answer to your question is that spin and orbital angular momentum are treated on...