Important Definition and 498 Threads

hi all, I am a researcher at university and I have several bechelor and master thesis students every year. Very often, I struggle to convince students to carry out a good literature review and from their thesis, I do not get anything I have not seen, because they only read the first google...

I have always been wondering whether GR is generally, see what I did there :), more important in terms of science than special relativity.

what are the most important formulas in calculus based mechanics? maybe formulas that you are almost certain will be on one of the few tests given during the semester? I am asking because I am self studying right now before class starts and there seems to be A LOT of formulas. so I was wondering...

I am stuck on the questions, 5.3.10 and 5.3.11 which are part of a chapter on dimensional analysis in fluid mechanics by Streeter. Question 5.3.10 (see also the attachment): It asks me for the given fluid dynamic problems, where is the inertial force not important. It lists several fluid...

A place in S. China which have yielded amazingly detailed fossils of animal embryos (and some adult forms) from before the time of the Cambrian explosion (of hard body fossils of early animals (zoology's big bang)), and before the preceding Edicarian fauna (some largish soft body fossils often...

I have read some paper about transport measurement of graphene. From classical hall effect, we can get some information about kind of charge carrier, charge density etc. So, it is important for understanding matter. But, I don`t know why quantum hall effect is important in graphene transport...

In your opinion, what are the most important topics in precalculus needed before entering calculus 1? What must a student know well after taking precalculus?

I recently was accepted into OSU and am a little concerned because I have been a 4.0 student for the past 2-3 years but might graduate with a couple bs on my final transcript maybe even a c. Are they able to just decline me? If so how much slacking off would I have to do for that to happen...

How much importance does light (electromagnetism) have to do with the "Observer Effect" in the Double-slit experiment? From my research, it seems that the only successful "Observer Effects" in the Double-slit experiments, wherein, the interference pattern transitions to a clump pattern, is...

Determinism. Generally speaking how important is determinism in physics?

Graduate grades, undergraduate grades, abr physics, abr clinical, letters of recommendation, abstracts in conferences, papers published, thesis vs. non-thesis, clinical experience, school-name, ability to bs your way through an interview, etc. What's the order of importance?

First of all: What is a representation? It is the description of a mathematical object like a Lie group or a Lie algebra by its actions on another space 1). We further want this action to preserve the given structure because its structure is exactly what we're interested in. And this other space...

James Clerk Maxwell

hello, I am currently a sophomore pursuing a bachelor's in chemical engineering at Auburn University, Alabama. While chemical engineering is a great career, I just do not think that it is for me and I feel like I will enjoy Aerospace engineering a lot more (i really, really like physics and am...

I'm a Mechanical Engineering student intending to pursue a Master's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering after college, and Machine Design is one of the disciplines I'm going to take next year. I understand the importance of various topics in mechanical engineering to an aircraft project (topics...

Hello I am taking a first year physics course at my university Our tests are multiple choice but very hard, here's an old midterm: http://notebro.com/viewer.php?url=http://notebro.com/forum/download/file.php?id=43062 Is it better to do ALL the questions in the back of the textbook or only...

Hello from Italy I'm switching from CS to Physics BS because i personally find it more various and interesting (and in Rome there is one of the best physics school in the world). Mathematical analysis is a common subject and my credits will be recognised but i didn't study Linear algebra yet...

I'm currently doing my Bachelor of Physics in Italy, my projects for the future are to apply for a MSc in Physics in some good European universities in Germany or in the UK. (Just to say, I was thinking about München or London). Unfortunately I'm not sure I will be able to end my studies in the...

I'm a (physical) chemistry major, middle of my undergrad but I didn't really get into it until very recently. After realizing that I was missing out, I started to self study physics and chemistry earlier last month pretty seriously. I have come to the conclusion that I have no natural talent...

I know that the speed/acceleration of a star can be measured using redshift/blueshift caused by the motion of stars, but I just learned that gravitation also causes redshift and blueshift. Would this not cause some uncertainty into the determining how fast a star is moving away from us? If so...

Please indicate the papers you think will prove most significant for future Loop-and-allied QG research. The poll is multiple choice, so it's possible to vote for several. Abstracts follow in the next post. http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.08658 The Atoms Of Space, Gravity and the Cosmological...

I am reading Mark Newman's Computational Physics textbook. He goes over calculating integrals with Simpsons's Rule and the Trapezoidal Rule, and then he goes over calculating their errors. Why would I have to ever worry about the error of the integral? He has the chapters online at his website...

Please indicate the papers you think will prove most significant for future Loop-and-allied QG research. The poll is multiple choice, so it's possible to vote for several. Abstracts follow in the next post. http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.09010 Implications of Planck2015 for inflationary, ekpyrotic...

I built just a long pendulum in my house in order to start looking at a simple Foucault pendulum "prove the Earth moves" event at the science museum I'm helping to start here in Pensacola. It gave me a nicely reliable movement that seemed to show the pattern I was looking for. Every time, it...

I need some help with my science fair project question and I want to know what metal it is honestly it has to be copper write that is what wires are made of?

Indicate the papers you think will prove most significant for future Loop-and-allied QG research. The poll is multiple choice, so it's possible to vote for several. Abstracts follow in the next post. http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.08899 Generalized effective description of loop quantum cosmology...

Physics major in my country is often regarded worthless. Here we have exams before university people who get higher places mostly study medicine, engineering, law etc. I am someone who loves learning stuff and who wants to make a difference so I am studying physics this year (hopefully with a...

Homework Statement Hi, When finding the steady-state response to a sinusoidal input, since "s" is a complex number, (a + jw), why do we substitute "s" with only the imaginary part (jw) in the transfer function, G(s) , to get G(jw), rather than substituting the whole complex number to get G(a +...

Homework Statement Hi, How come, for a refrigerator and a heat pump, we don't consider the changes in energy for the refrigerant for when the pressure drops (at expansion valve) and when it rises (at the compression valve)? We only consider the changes in energy when it evaporates and...

ZapperZ submitted a new PF Insights post The Most Important Thing You Can Learn from Physics Forums Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.

Hello! I am in 3rd year of engineering in Biochemical engineering. I want go for a Ph.D in High Energy Physics in the US (and I will be an international applicant). So, I will have to write both the General GRE and Physics GRE. I want to know how important is the General GRE score. Do I need to...

Core being Thermal, Mechanics, E&M, Quantum? Say I graduate with a average 3.4 gap, but ace these courses, would Grad admissions care about a rough first year including Cs in Calc I and II and Bs in General Physics?

Hello PF, I'm in the market for a new computer and due to my needs I've got it narrowed down to a laptop. My budget is about $1000, maybe a little more if need be. I'm looking for advice on what hardware specs would be most useful for the standard physics major. I run MATLAB, Maple, and a few...

Please indicate the papers you think will prove most significant for future Loop-and-allied QG research. The poll is multiple choice, so it's possible to vote for several. Abstracts follow in the next post. http://arxiv.org/abs/1504.01065 Wilson loops in CDT quantum gravity J. Ambjorn, A...

I've been looking over some past threads on PF with regards to graduate school and funding and it's made me reconsider applying internationally. To give some background: I'm a Canadian entering third year (of a 4-year BSc program) this fall and am studying Physics. I plan on pursuing grad school...

Hello, Apologies for the squished title. Basically, I'm wondering how important E&M and RF/microwaves will be once I obtain my BSEE and search for my first job. I did some research on the forum already and people said that these skills are 'in demand,' and I just wanted more clarification on...

Hi all, Is there a rule in math or logic that states something like this: When Skill is the Primary factor in determining an outcome, When two opposing people are closer in skill, then smaller factors become more important? Lets say two warriors are battling it out and are close to being...

I'm asking this mainly to engineers but anyone can answer. How important is the classification of degree that you receive and what has it's impact been on your career? I plan to work in industry and eventually towards chartered/professional status then management positions. For my MEng...

Time-like and light like separations between events make sense, because a particle or a light flash can travel between them. However, how can you have a space-like interval when even light cannot travel such an interval (because its velocity is not greater than c). Obviously the first event...

I am engineering student and studying signal processing. The term Fourier transform comes in the discussion several times. There are many transforms like Laplace transform,Z transform,Wavelet transform.But as per my view ,Fourier transform is mostly used compared to others in general. My...

It's almost April 15 and I am currently choosing between schools that seem to have a perfect inverse correlation between a) correlation between my research interests and the schools (though I am still somewhat undecided at the moment) and b) niceness of location. I can see how a potential...

Sorry, this is a question on evolution. How did human female breasts evolve into such an important sexual organ? No other mammals other than humans seem to be interested in their corresponding female counterpart's breasts. They may be getting visually attracted, but do not seem to be interested...

Indicate the papers you think will prove most significant for future Loop-and-allied QG research. The poll is multiple choice, so it's possible to vote for several. Abstracts follow in the next post. With one exception, the papers are listed chronologically: latest first. The exception was a...

A bit more info. I am 30, went back to college at 27 for an Electrical Engineering Degree. I have one year left after this semester. I have a wife and a mortgage and a job (non technical, I work in the service industry) Getting an internship is a challenging endeavor for me. I have bills to pay...

I was thinking, the critical point between the liquid and gas phases is the dew point, not the boiling point, right? Melting/freezing on the solid/liquid boundary is analogous to evaporation/condensation on the liquid/gas boundary. Boiling is something totally different, and is not possible in...

I'm trying to get a feel for what's important and what's not so important. For example is memorizing the Frobenius method important or is it something you don't use much? I'm asking from the perspective of a grad student.

What are the important numbers in cosmology that dictates the very fate of the universe? I searched through Google and one site states that they are 13 constants; http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/g163/13-most-important-numbers-in-the-universe/ What could be the possible consequences if...

I'm asking this to help with making subject choices. One thing I'd like carry away from this degree is an overall understanding of the origin and structure of the universe. I'm wondering how much quantum mechanics and quantum field theory should I take to gain this understanding. I have heard of...

Are there any real life applications of Fourier series? Are there examples of Fourier series which have an impact on students learning this topic. I have found the normal suspects of examples in this field such as signal processing, electrical principles but there must be a vast range of...

I'm currently specializing in Physics and am also looking to possibly complete a minor in Microbiology. I have completed a lot of courses in the latter field so far, and only need 4 more to to get the minor (I'm only in 2nd year). With that being said, the problem is that I will essentially be...