Recent content by trinitron

I'd use this: http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm

I have to put in my two cents here and say that I don't think this could be further from the truth. As a Michigan student, here is the comparison I will make: Our honors math program is quite good, and our physics one is really lacking. Looking back on my first two years here I can say that my...

Such disclaimers that companies write on their products don't carry any legally weight. Same goes for the EULA on software.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393097935/?tag=pfamazon01-20 I haven't read this particular book but I've read another book by French (vibrations) and it was very good. This one seems to be well received.

The point of homework sets is to prepare you to do research. If you can't do basic problems you won't be able to derive a result for your next paper either. While I personally think that Jackson is a terrible book and does little to teach the underlying theory, a blanket criticism of all problem...

"well see. I don't want war. I hate war. But I believe the best way to prevent war is to have the best weapons. " And how is it that the last twenty years haven't convinced you that this point of view is flawed?

Yes, all those elites are wasting their money sending their kids to Exeter. Or maybe it works.

I guess I'm not entirely sure what it means to say that it transforms as the adjoint representation. Doesn't this mean that if I restrict the map T_{N\times\bar{N}}^a to the subspace defined by the first parenthesis, it should act as the adjoint, which is defined by (T^a)^b_c=-if^{abc} (where f...

Ok, new question, this time from Steve Martin's phenomenology notes (http://zippy.physics.niu.edu/phys586_spring2002.html ). On page 160, eq 9.78, the claim is that the first term transforms as an adjoint representation and the second as a singlet. I'm trying to verify this by using eq 9.29, the...

Here is a good guide to the mathematics that you will need: http://superstringtheory.com/math/math2.html As far as physics, I assume that you should be familiar with GR and quantum field theory before you begin learning string theory.

No problem, just wanted to make sure I had things straight. I'll probably have more questions soon :)

Indeed it does, thanks! Though I think there is a missing (or extra, if you like) \gamma^0 in your third line. Since \overline{\Psi}=\Psi^{\dag}\gamma^0, should we not have \Psi^*_i \gamma^0_{ij} \gamma^0_{jk} u_k?

I have been working through Srednicki this summer to teach myself qft, and all too often I've gotten stuck on a small point and ended up spending a great deal of time clearing it up by myself. While this is probably an important part of the learning process, I am progressing a bit too slowly, so...

"My problem is, since my grades are suffering, I'm not sure which college to accept admission at. I'd like to go to the University of Washington but I am afraid when I send them my final transcripts I will be denied admittance and by this time I believe it will be too late to accept any place...

Sure, you're not living it up at 20-25k per year, but the terminology is very misleading. I wouldn't say it was a 'monumental task' to finance a job at McDonalds. Also many graduate students don't have families and don't live in major cities. I agree with the opportunity cost argument; I just...