Recent content by Vampyr

If on Earth we detect the light from a supernova 100,000 light years away, we can say that the supernova happened 100,000 years ago (ignoring any dust etc. that might slow down the light). However, would all observers agree that the event happened 100,000 years ago? If a spaceship was traveling...

Not sure if there is a typo in your sentence or not, but are you saying that ##|\psi|^2## only applies in the nonrelativistic case, and that in relativistic cases the more complicated version needs to be used to get the probability density? I've not seen that more complicated version before and...

Why does the derivation of the Dirac equation naturally lead to spin ½ particles? The equation is derived from very general starting assumptions, so which of these assumptions has to be wrong to give us a spin-0 or spin-1 particle? I have tried to search for an answer and got as far as this...

I'm trying to understand electron spin. I understand that if you try to explain the intrinsic angular momentum of an electron, you end up with the surface spinning several times the speed of light. However, calculations always seem to be done classically. Shouldn't it be done relatavistically...

Thank you!

"Size" of elemetary particles I stumbled upon this nice link showing the universe at different scales: http://htwins.net/scale2/ However, if you scroll down to the attometer scale you get to the elementary particles which have been given sizes. Does anyone know what these sizes mean? I...

I work in the actuarial field in the UK. I wouldn't worry about the level of maths if you have a physics degree. The maths used in the actuarial exams is broadly A-level further maths standard, with a few extras but is nothing too advanced. Your day-to-day work may involve more mathematics if...

It depends on what kind of job you are applying for, but generally speaking, the work experience section would be a sensible place to put it. If you are applying for a position in science, the way you have done it seems fine.

I like it. I wasn't expecting to, but its actually really good!

In the UK it's a 4 year boot so even easier

Where are you? In the UK this is a fairly common route for maths PhDs.

Yes, a bachelor's degree is 3 years but most people who would be considering research would do a 4 year masters. The masters is incorporated as a standard part of an undergraduate course ie you wouldn't generally do a 3 year BSc and a 1 year MSci - you'd just do a 4 year MSci. The UK system...

Volunteering to do real research is a great way to learn experimental skills properly. You don't need to worry about not knowing what to do - they will pretty much expect you to know nothing. You are not just going to be unleashed in a lab to do whatever you want since this would be dangerous...

Organic often turns into this memory game and this is usually because it is taught poorly with too much emphasis on the wrong things. You are not the only one who has had this problem. Most people seem to worry a lot more about what a reaction does when in fact we should be worrying about why it...

Have you become disenchanted with the work itself, or just because of what you have heard about the job? The problem with something like actuarial science is that it is often misunderstood as a career. A lot of mathematicians are attracted to the field thinking they'll be solving complex...