Recent content by Thomas Rigby

I read about Noether's theorem that says how for every symmetry there is a conserved quantity. Seems kind of obvious. Does anyone understand it well enough that they can explain precisely why that notion is profound?

I don't understand what you mean when you say "currents always have a return path". Suppose I have a two conducting spheres; one charged and one uncharged. If I then connect a single wire between them, a current will flow until the equilibrium is reached. There doesn't appear to be any "return...

Transmission lines require two conductors. I am just using one conductor. But thanks for participating.

I don't attach a coax cable to the little wire. I attach a solid 14 AWG wire to it. There is no co-axial wire.

I connect this to my NanoVNA. The reason I sent this image is to show you that there is no connection between the inner conductor and the outer conductor. My mental picture is this: a signal is transmitted out along the inner conductor, hits whatever is at the other end (in this image, nothing)...

Thank you, I believe I understand. Since the outer connector is just a reference point, I don't need to connect it to anything, unless I have some reason for preferring a different reference.

I have a VNA with an SMA connector for measuring reflection. If I connect only the center conductor of the SMA to a piece of metal, I get a spectrum. My question is, what should I be doing with the outer connector? I am trying to learn EE by reading and doing. I don't have a lot of intuition...

Thanks! This is very helpful.

I have a NanoVNA spectrum analyzer. I took a 1 meter 12 AWG solid copper wire and soldered one end of that to the center conductor of the SMA connector and did a sweep from 10 kHz to 1 Ghz looking at reflection. I have attached a photograph of the result. My hope is that someone can tell me...

I want to learn about Quantum Computing (QC). I am familiar with Quantum Mechanics. So far I have found two types of literature: (1.) Introductions to QC for the layman, and (2) Literature for people who are already knowledgeable about the field. Can someone recommend a mid-level source along...

That was my gut feeling, but I wasn't sure. What, then, is the simplest process I can study involving nucleons? I keep reading about Deuterium, I feel like that might be a prototypical model for what you are describing. In addition, such a reaction seems to require inelasticity, otherwise it is...

Yes, this is what I am looking for. Nuclear physics is new to me; what are "D", "T", and "+"? Sorry if my wording is awkward, I am not familiar with the terminology of nuclear physics.

I was hoping someone could point me to a source where I could read about the actual QFT theory behind fission or fusion, not indulge in petty discussions about the definition of "rest mass".

In more advanced courses, you will learn about something called "annihilation" in which an electron and an "anti-electron" combine to form two photons. I was hoping someone knowledgeable about nuclear physics could point me to an analogous mechanism in nuclear fission or fusion.

What is the precise mechanism by which matter is converted to energy?