Recent content by Izzhov

Homework Statement A particle is sliding inside a frictionless paraboloid defined by r^2 = az with no gravity. We must show that the force of constraint is proportional to (1+4r^2/a^2)^{-3/2} Homework Equations f(r,z) = r^2-az = 0 F_r = \lambda \frac{\partial f}{\partial r} (and similarly for...

All of the sources I have found for this online have been wildly unclear. Many use the phrase "Fermi energy" to refer to the "Fermi level" (which is emphatically not what I'm looking for; I want the Fermi energy as defined in this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_energy )...

Is there any difference between an MS and MA in Physics? I want to apply to Boston University for graduate school, but they only offer an MA in physics. Also note that in either case I am going on to earn my PhD, if that's relevant.

Does anyone know if there exists a resource/web page on the Internet that lists all physics graduate school programs and their deadlines?

I'm applying to graduate school in physics, and I recently sent my personal statement to a professor for review. They sent it back to me today and told me that so-called "personal statements" are not actually supposed to be personal, linking me here as evidence. That article claims things like...

I have a GRE score of 6.0 writing, 170 reading, and 168 quantitative, and a 4.0 GPA. I also have 4 semesters of soft matter theory research and 1 summer of particle physics theory research. I'm applying to do theory to many schools, including MIT, SUNY Stony Brook, Stanford, Harvard, UMass...

Ok, so from each of these co-moving frames, with what velocity will the particle measure me to be traveling circularly around it?

In this context, I would define it as a frame whose origin coincides with the particle at all times and whose axes are parallel to the lab frame's axes. Thus the particle would measure me moving circularly around it.

First, a really basic one: if Jack is jogging past me with a constant speed, and I observe that speed to be v in my frame, with what speed will Jack observe me to be moving, as measured from his own frame? If the answer is not v, which Lorentz transformation do I use to derive it? Second, a...

Now I'm confused. Are you telling me that \left(\frac{d\mathbf{x}}{dt}\right)_{nonrot} is not, in fact, the velocity as measured in the lab frame? If not, what is it?

I don't believe I did, because if the book is to be believed both a and v are being measured in the lab frame, which would mean there's no Lorentz transformations going on there.

If any of you have the Third Edition of Classical Electrodynamics by John David Jackson, turn to section 11.8, as that's where I'm getting all this from. If not, you should still be able to follow along. In said section, Jackson gives us this equation that relates any physical vector G in a...

I'm currently working out the Schrödinger equation for a proton in a constant magnetic field for a research project, and while computing the Hamiltonian I came across this expression: (\vec{A}\cdot\nabla)\Psi where \Psi is a scalar function of r, theta, and phi. How do you evaluate this...

I ask this because I've heard repeatedly that all the equations in current physics models are reversible in time, save the second law of thermodynamics. But does this mean the process of radioactive decay is also reversible in time?

I played around with the vector field and found that it does seem to hold that \oint \vec{dl}\cdot\vec{v} is equal to 2*pi times the winding number of any given closed loop, so I'm going to assume that's what my professor wanted me to prove. I can prove this is true when the winding number is...