Recent content by James Jackson

ZapperZ - No no, you can put the 45 degree polarizer on top of the other two. Try it...

I take it you're in the US? How major a part does the research play in your final result? Here in the UK (at Bristol) my final year project counted 25% towards my degree score. Good thing I had a really interesting, 'real world' project (developing a neural network technique to attach...

Did you see the title of the post (Things that make you go 'wow'). Try it youself. Get three linear polarizers and an overhead projector. Put one on - light intensity drops by a certain amount (1/sqrt(2) or something like that) as expected. Now put other on top at 90 degrees to the first...

No, it's not an 'intermediate polarizer'. This is the principle that LCDs work with, and that is conceivable with the explanation you give (if it is rather lacking in 'true' Physics). The situation I've described is that you have two linear polarizers at 90 degrees to each other, so you have...

For advice as to what to take when, get the Calc stuff nice and sorted in your head. Stats is pretty important too, but the stats is easier to learn that the calc when it comes to statistical physics. Doing it the other way round is a bit silly really. Group theory you won't touch until some...

ZapperZ - what was going on there? Sounds interesting... Edit: The photoemission, not the balloons :)

Do others have bits of 'simple' (or, indeed, complex, but the simple has a bigger 'wow' factor, I reckon) Physics that make you go 'wow', 'huh?' and 'I dunno!' all in one fell swoop? I recall a very easy demo in an early QM lecture - take two polarising polarizing filters arranged at 90...

Thinking about it, Physics for Scientists and Engineers by P.A. Tipler would be a good first reference - less 'in at the deep end' feel than Feynman's lectures.

P.S. The number means bugger all, other than I got some pseudo 'able child' support at school which came in the form of some rubbish weekend schools. What does matter is being able to integrate into whatever society one chooses, be it academic, business, agriculture, whatever.

In the supervised UK Mensa tests (Cattell 'B' and standard Culture Free Test if I remember correctly) I came out at 164. That was a long time ago, I've certainly lost brain cells since then.

Does phi have an upper limit? You've got to be careful with contour integration with the values of functions, what with functions such as log z being multi-valued at certain points (leading to lovely things such as branch points, Reimann surfaces, that kind of jazz). I suggest Boas...

Thing is, contour integrals deal with definite integration. The integral stated has no limits...

Second ZapperZ's point on Boas. Top book.

This looks like a prime candidate for contour integration on the complex plane...

The Feynman lectures are excellent, but expensive.