Recent content by Zacarias Nason

  1. Z

    I Help please -- Seeking clear definition of fundamental terms

    The main reason I'm making this is in response to what I view as two god-awful definitions of law and definition I came across in a textbook. Definition Law (1) Law (2) Maybe it's just me, but I just take these as being deeply unsatisfactory for how much the book just browbeat the reader with...
  2. Z

    I Help please -- Seeking clear definition of fundamental terms

    But sometimes they aren't. Just because good definitions aren't prolific enough doesn't mean they shouldn't be. It's unavoidable that people will have somewhat different definitions in their minds, but entirely not preferential as opposed to having clarity. I feel like your response amounted to...
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    I Help please -- Seeking clear definition of fundamental terms

    I've tried repeatedly to get clear, succinct definitions of the following terms over and over again, but invariably the definitions provided clash, and I'd like to put an end to that. The terms I am trying to define clearly are: - Relation - Definition (Mathematical definition) - Function -...
  4. Z

    I Legitimacy of Particle-Wave Duality

    This is a really, really cool concept. I've never seen it like that.
  5. Z

    Question about Photon energy in Nuclear/Atomic Physics

    I picked up a book titled "Physics in Nuclear Medicine" that, while a slightly outdated edition, will presumably still have a bunch of valid fundamental information inside. One thing I noticed in it talking about EM radiation behaving as packets of energy was that it states: "The energy of the...
  6. Z

    I Legitimacy of Particle-Wave Duality

    I'm asking this question not because of my own misgivings but someone else on this forum some time ago made a comment in a different context which, when talking about teaching Quantum Mechanics, was something like, "Do they still teach things like the particle-wave duality, too?" as a criticism...
  7. Z

    Infinite series related interest question

    I wrote this: in post #4, I have no idea what you're talking about w.r.t. me using algebraic formulas in that post. I understand how to derive a formula for S_n = a + ar +ar^2 + ... + ar^{n-1} + ... , so I'm guessing you did something similar when you said "standard algebraic formulas"; I...
  8. Z

    Infinite series related interest question

    If I had to hazard a guess, the initial investment would have to at minimum be $2,000 since (0.005)(2,000)=10 or (1.005)(2,000)=2010; if you withdrew $10 monthly you'd indefinitely be receiving the same amount and never having the account balance or the actual interest paid increase, but that...
  9. Z

    Infinite series related interest question

    Maybe I should've put a question mark next to them so others clued in that both of those formulas were tentative as I already wasn't* sure if they could be used. I don't know if I misused them if I did virtually no math with them yet, but it's fair to say that since I didn't indicate otherwise...
  10. Z

    Infinite series related interest question

    I get what it's asking. That doesn't change that I don't understand how to mathematically approach it, though.
  11. Z

    Infinite series related interest question

    Homework Statement "A dollar due to be paid to you at the end of n months, with the same interest rate as in Problem 13, is worth only (1.005)^{-n} dollars now (because that is what will amount to $1 after n months). How much must you deposit now in order to be able to withdraw $10 a month...
  12. Z

    Good study habit increases chances of doing good at Physics?

    This is painfully true, particularly the bit about "no experience in problem solving nor in learning" - I think it's both easier to happen and harder to notice nowadays with resources like the internet at hand when someone has developed learned helplessness, because so, so, so many questions can...
  13. Z

    I Infinite Sq. Well sinusoidal gen. soln question

    I get how that mechanism works, I just don't understand how, in the framework of this situation, you could get a -k when you've defined it to be positive, or all of its constituents to be positive or zero so their product will be positive. 2 is positive. m is positive. E is positive or zero...
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    I Infinite Sq. Well sinusoidal gen. soln question

    It's the chapter after this, (Hilbert Space, etc) but I think my point still stands as phrased. And I'd like to buy J. J. Sakurai's books if I could afford them right now, but even the used ones on Amazon are out of my price range for just the moment :^) And yes, it does make for quite a bit of...
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    I Infinite Sq. Well sinusoidal gen. soln question

    I guess this is just wording/choice of how to convey an idea, earlier he explicitly defined k as k \equiv \frac{\sqrt{2mE}}{\hbar} so I'd like to assume all the following discussion unless otherwise indicated is based on that. What/when would it be sensible for k to be negative? vanhees71: You...
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