This discussion reminds of a thing that's been bugging me. In differential equations you can take a something like f(x)g(y)(dy/dx) = G(x) and turn it into g(y)dy = (G(x)/f(x))dx and then integrate each side and get a solution, but why is it okay to split up dy/dx? dy/dx was first presented to...
I think I get it now. For a billiard ball flying in space, to have greater momentum is to go faster. For a photon, to have greater momentum is to be more massive which is a function of the momentum which is a function of frequency so that a blueshift in frequency will result in a more...
I'm still trying to reconcile the billiard ball conception of the photon with the wave conception of a photon. So, if a photon has momentum, as the de Broglie equation seems to imply, then I imagine that would imply it has mass. But if it has mass then it's momentu varies with velocity and...
I was reading an elementary treatment of the photoelectric effect and it says that the energy of a photon is related to it's wavelength by λ=h/p where p is the momentum. So this would imply that changing the frequency of a light source while keeping the intensity constant means that at higer...
Okay, so I think I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to get the Intro To Physics Books by A.P. French, Mathematical Tools for Physics by James Nearing (Dr. Nearing is a distant acquiantance, but a super coold dude, so that's why I chose his book.) and Electricity and Magnetism by Purcell...
This may be a dead thread; but maybe the OP will read this. If you want to do physics, find out where the physics majors hang out in your school and try to make friends. Next thing you'll want to do is test into or out of calculus. There is no speed limit to learning if you adopt an...
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think I'm just going to try to jump into a mechanics textbook written for upper division undergrads and I'll also read one of those math for physics books to jog my memory. In the later category names like Arfken and Weber as well as Mary Boas keep coming up.
The economy is in a slump. Things may or may not be better when you get out. Age discrimination is a very real possibility for you. Do it if you value physics to the point where the PhD. would have been worth it even if there is no job waiting for you. The bleak job outlook is the reaon I...
Hi everybody, I've been out of school for 4 years and I'd like to learn some physics.
I'll give a summary of my background and I'd like suggestions as to what I should study and in what order. There's an abundance of resources that can be found through Google, but it's hard to decide what is...
Just draw two lines through Q, one parallel to b and the other parallel to a. These lines will cut b and a to the appropriate lengths and these lenghts can be determined by using the similarity triangles in the case of a and the 30-60 triangle in the case of b.
Why would the stationary end of cable need to change it's speed instantaneously? The end that's attached to the crate has been moving all along, it's just that the cable wasn't taut, there were some loops of cable coiled up on top of the crate. And I'm not sure how to set up the equations...
I came up with this question while thinking about pulleys. Most textbook pulley problems involve the force on the load being equal to the load's weight so that there's no acceleration. But what if we had the following setup. There's an anchor on the ceiling and there's a heavy crate on the...