Recent content by Freespader

The shell theorem says if you have a "shell", infinitely thin and spherical with uniform charge density, the charge acts as if all the charge were at the center. It also works with rings, but not in the 3rd dimeension. The corollary is that a solid sphere, being an infinite number of shells...

My understanding of sound waves is that they are waves of high and low pressure. So if there were a lot of identical sounds, but randomly out of phase, would they tend to cancel each other out, producing no sound at all? Assuming thousands or even millions of sources of these sounds. To me, it...

I don't think you actually need to use Gauss's law for this one, TBH. Since it's a sphere with uniform ρ, by the Shell Theorem, it acts like all the charge were centered at, well, the center. I'd solve using E = q/(4πε₀r^2) If you really want to use a Gaussian surface, since it's...

Alright, to see if I get this: when the beam is bent, this would provide for greater torque, right? (I diagrammed it out, and that's what it seemed to be.) So if you have a straight rod, and no pendulum at the bottom, then the smallest amount extra on either side (neglecting friction, of...

To make sure I get you: there's actually 3 masses in the whole thing? I guess that does make sense. And that would also explain why on a Triple Beam Balance a small amount of extra mass won't push it down all the way. Thanks!

I think you've got the basics right there, but in case you don't I'll try to explain it really quickly. When you come down, right before you hit the trampoline, your energy is almost all KE, with only an insignificant amount of GPE. Immediately, when you hit, it acts like a spring, pushing...

This may seem like a really dumb question, but I can't figure out what the answer is, so please just bear with me. Why does a balance that is equal come out straight? If one side is tilted slightly lower than another, shouldn't it just stay that way since the masses are the same on either...

I think I can clarify the discussion a little: Madviolinist is my friend. Nice try, by the way. To be honest, I think you're missing the point of my argument entirely, which would explain why we're still arguing. The point of R(a) is that it IS random. The only real "function" for it...

That's what I was telling him, but he said since it then "depended on it" it made it not random. Thanks for your support, I'll show this to him :).

My friend and I were having a discussion, and we both can't seem to see the other side's point of view. The question was whether a certain "operation" is random or not. This is what it is: Suppose you have an input, it doesn't matter what it is. The first "operation" is just a completely...

We are finishing up our unit on light in physics, and I was a little confused about refraction. What I want to know is why it happens. My teachers says that a wave front needs to be preserved for light, and to do this when transmitting through materials requires a change in direction...

I came up with an idea for an equation, which follows: 36=X^X. I tried solving it, but I couldn't. I found the graphically (3.15, if I recall correctly), but I want to know if there's a way to solve it algebraically.

If there was no electricity, think of the pandemonium that would ensue. Countries would break down, and it would take a VERY long time to get to a 19th century point, let alone our time. Look at New Orleans - With all the flooding, look at all the looting that was going on. With that type of...

An ice age doesn't mean there is no sunlight... It just means there is less light being absorbed, and more being deflected into space, cooling the planet. When this happens, glaciers/ice extend farther South, which causes more sunlight to be deflected and the issue "snowballs" :). There'd...

It sounds like you're trying to have an event which destroys electronics both nothing else. Am I right? I think your best bet would be an EM Pulse. EMP's are huge bursts of electromagnetic radiation (read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse) which could potentially...