Recent content by jefo

Oops again. The equipotential equation for determining the average mass of particles is m=4.14×10^-23T/v^2. I missed the "^-23". Though even with the right equation, the result is still nonsense (the average mass of the particles is NOT 1/36th that of a proton).

I mean VELOCITY was slightly higher (than 400 km/second).

It is embarrassing to have revealed myself to be such a moron, by posting replies (and even this whole thread) prior to doing a little more research. That said, my research has revealed a web page posting ongoing readings taken by a satellite hovering 1% sunward of the earth...

Re: Comment by phinds: Good point. Motion is relative. In that case, so is energy. For that matter, temperature would also be relative to a frame of reference, although that is hard for me to visualize.

I have to disagree. Unless the proton is in a particle accelerator, it has a temperature, according to this definition: "In science, temperature is a measure of hotness or coldness, which in turn is a measure of the kinetic energy of particles." Maybe I should have said 'typical' proton, or...

That question reminds me of, "Why do you think a tree falling in the forest makes any noise if there is no one around to hear it?" If you could stick a thermometer in (you name it), you will not only see indication of temperature, you will also see the rate of increase or decrease of that...

What a wonderful article. Although it helps answer my question, it also reveals at least two more. One new question is: Is there a sorting process going on, separating higher energy particles occurring in the distribution, or is there another acceleration force active here? Quoting from the...

Okay, renormalize. Let me try again. To determine the AVERAGE (proton) particle speed streaming out of the sun, I can rearrange the equipartition equation thus: v^2 = 3kT/m. Plugging in 1.38x10^-23 (Boltzmann constant) for k, 1,000,273 degrees Kelvin for T, and 1.67×10^-27 (mass of a proton...

I read that the solar wind is a stream of particles, primarily electrons and protons, flowing out from the sun at speeds as high as 900 km/s, and at a temperature of 1 million degrees. Using the equipartition theorem, I calculate that a proton moving at 900,000 meters per second exhibits a...

This conversation is about a thought experiment, not an actual trial. We want to understand and predict what happens to the energy in a collision between two blocks (or automobiles or football players or whatever), not set up an actual frictionless surface with calorimeters, etc. So let us...