Recent content by Supercool_ed

Hello all, my name is Nick. I'm a physicist who specializes in the kinetics and thermodynamics of supercooled liquids, and am also the Chair of the American Physical Society's FGSA. I am leaving the research world behind and getting ready to start a new career as a quant. I'm here to stay...

Let's go back to the basic equation. So, F=-dU/dx. If the slope is constant then this can be written as F=-[U(40)-U(20)]/[40-20] (then multiply by 100 to convert from cm to m) You could use any points in the interval, but will get the same value because, as you pointed out, the slope is constant...

Hey! You're spot on that the slope is constant throughout the 20cm-40cm range which means the average rate of change in that region is equal to the instantaneous rate of change at all points in the region. You also correctly pointed out that the expression for force is the negative or the rate...

I find Gilbert Strang's book to be invaluable. Still consult it from time to time, and the applications section is quite nice...