Thank you, muccasen!
But, I'm afraid that phrases like, "time runs" and "detached by an amount of time" are the ones that I am trying to avoid. These are simply idioms that we have come to associate with the concept of time. Of all the "concepts" we think we understand, "time" is the most...
Going back to the wave vs. particle question:
I believe that when one asks this question (what really is a photon?), he or she is looking for an analogy that compares a photon to a macroscopic phenomenon. This is what physicists are doing in a way, but instead of looking for an analogy they are...
I would also like to learn about Lie Algebra for the same reason as waht. E8 seems very interesting and Lie Algebra just seems so fundamental for quantum field theory. A great tool to have, but how should one learn it? Waht, have you checked out Lisi's paper, "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of...
"What is time?" I am aware that the question is age-old and has loomed in the background of physics as long as the subject has been around. I am also aware that cosmologists, who devote their lives to studying the concept of time and the evolution of this universe, struggle to put a finger on...
I believe that you have touched on an important symmetry that I have been thinking about for some time now. A symmetry between cause and effect; and to play off of this symmetry idea, but thinking about space instead of time, what if instead of matter causing space to warp, it was actually the...
Agreed! I just finished a course in which we used Griffiths and his book is excellent. Jackson is a much more challenging graduate level text. By doing Griffiths you are on the path to Jackson.