Recent content by sophiecentaur

i.e. when we have found a working model We really don't need an apologist for Maths but, as it's based on axioms, it doesn't need measurements to 'prove' that it applies. Anything that crops up in Maths is part of Maths. But Maths is much too hard for most of us and most of us just have to...

To measure a quantity requires Energy, which is a function of Wave Energy (power times observation time) and Power is Amplitude Squared. The amplitude (and phase) are needed to calculate the resulting interference and you can only arrive at the Energy after the vector addition. The actual...

That's great - a double whammy, in fact and a win win situation. However, that doesn't address the problem which some posts on this thread have brought up - namely the accuracy of the Science on very popular media outputs. One could argue that the fact that a lot of published and transmitted...

Good point here. Calculations with scalars don't seem to give the same awkwardness; we are very familiar with elementary school arithmetical operators and the idea of a=bXc but we seldom question how this simple bit of maths can relate to real world understanding. We intuitively assume...

MAths is not Science and it is not evidence based (based on axioms) There are some nice entertaining topics which can be presented to a lay audience but it's more like party tricks. Only a tiny fraction of a TV audience is able to understand (at best, they've forgotten) the most elementary...

A hammer device (of appropriate mass and speed) is a lot more effective for many jobs. It would be one of the last tools I would be prepared to chuck away - for good reason. The sort of machine you are hinting at would need to be extremely massive and expensive and the only thing in its favour...

Cup half full cup half empty. People who complain about taxes as a matter of principle should be aware what life in very low tax communities can be like. Whilst the way the government spends 'our' money may not please us in detail, in high tax Westerns 'democracies' the roads and the sewers are...

(what's MMAPTTG.? Google didn't help me.) And Cox is doing his job to help maintain promote Science funding. It may not satisfy you guys but we have to put up with it. PF members may not be aware that the purpose of Broadcasters (and Governments too) is to maintain their own existences. If...

Agree. Contrast ratio of an astronomical image is very limited when you try to display it. That's why you only see the 'cross' pattern on very bright stars, where the central peak is driven into limiting. For dimmer stars, the cross sits below the least significant bit. There are processes...

We used to have Magic and Miracles to explain / describe situations which were difficult to explain. Now, the word 'paradox' is used instead. I think this is why 'Hard Maths' is not popular; you're not allowed to use such terms in Maths. Instead, people blame Mathematicians for being too nerdy

There will be other factors at work. The direction of the wind will affect the equilibrium temperature of the different surfaces of the car. For any discussions of this kind, it's essential somewhere to use the phrase 'all other things being equal'. The 'Gazebo Effect' is just like the...

Absolutely. E and H vectors are in phase and they always are, even with circular polarisation. This is or a plane wave in free space, of course; all bets are off in the near field where there is a conductor nearby. Right next to a simple dipole radiator, E and H are in phase quadrature.

You're right. Your ears probably do that sort of thing. I wonder what sort of rate of voltage drift it involves in that Capacitor. Could upset some measurements - along with all those other near-DC signals that people fight all the time.

I always twitch when I read or hear the word "harvesting". Imo, the word should only be applied when an appreciable quantity of Energy or food is involved. i.e. Weeding the garden is not 'Harvesting'. I can't find any numbers in this thread which could imply that there's some Energy coming...

Didya see Predator?