Information Definition and 999 Threads

I have found sites like coursera.org, and I have also heard that M.I.T. offers free online courses as well (though I have yet to have browsed their site for them). I am wondering how these courses work? I see that you get certificates of completion, but do they have any actual meaning? Is it...

Homework Statement Let Q(t)=t2. Find a formula for the average rate of change (ROC) of Q over the interval [1, t] and use it to estimate the instantaneous ROC at t = 1.Homework Equations For x1 ≠ x0, the average rate of change of y with respect to x over [x0, x1] is the ratio Average ROC =...

In the paper "A Mathematical theory of Communication" by Shannon I couldn't understand a theorem (Theorem 4) under the topic "The Entropy of Information Source"- Here 'H' is the entropy. Can you explain me how we get this theorem? What is this n(q)? I couldn't understand the sentence...

Hello everyone, I am looking for some resources that could help me understand interesting properties of S^3 (or S^n really). I am doing a small project for my topology course and in my studies I have found that I lack knowledge about S^3. Are there any good texts or online lecture notes...

Hi, I haven't been following the search for the higgs boson and what it could actually mean to our understanding of the physical universe. The only fleeting thought I had was that if it gives mass to matter, it can lead to an understanding of gravity on an intrinsic level. Instead of...

Homework Statement We have a carousel that completes a revolution in 4,0 s. The radius of the carousel disk is 0,8 m and the length of the (massless) rope is 1m. A horsey or whatever weighing 1 kg is hanging from the rope. Can we from this information extract the velocity of the horsey...

I watched this documentary about an argument involving information loss in a black hole, Stephen Hawking managed to wind everybody up by claiming information was lost and therefore broke existing laws of physics. Its an old recording so it may not be relevant anymore but one part of this...

I am currently studying in 12th standard in India. My subjects are English, Bengali, Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science. I am quite good in mathematics. I would like to study maths and physics in Germany. Please give me some detailed information about the maths ans physics curricula...

How can we know anything about black holes if nothing, not even information can escape the event horizon? If we can know the mass and gravity of a black hole it is because some information is being sent by the black hole, but how can this be possible if nothing, not even light, can escape...

It seems to me, and correct me if I am wrong, that someone with a masters in physics has just as much concrete knowledge of physics as someone who has a PhD (generally). After you get a masters you have pretty much taken all the courses one could take right? The next step is to APPLY the...

Hi, In general maintaining eye contact talking with people creates a sense of connection, but how do you feel about maintaining eye contact when listening to complex instructions? I often find it hard to maintain eye contact if an instructor is telling me something complex (such as...

I heard Claude Shannon believed all information could be expressed as a string of bits. Is there a theorem supporting this claim, or is this just some kind of folklore belief?

I came to know about this "Research Science Institute" which is a summer research program for rising high school seniors around the world . They say about 30 students from around the world are selected for this program that is hosted at MIT. Can anyone tell me about the selection procedure...

Hi, i have a question, what's about Einstein 'information keeping' law in matter and antimatter annihilation process, is any information left after this process ?

Hi! I am not much of astrophysicist or something but read something about Black hole information paradox in a book. Could anybody please explain me what is the meaning of term and why does it happen? P.S. Please include Hawking's radiation as well Thank you in advance

Have any-one used the Book titled Graduate Programs in Physics Astronomy and Related Fields updated every year by American Institute of Physics. Please share your experience with this book.

I hear that there is thing out there with communication with in all types of systems and it is called Information Technology (IT for short) Can some one expand upon this field of engineering, I would like to know a little bit more, And as always, Please and Thank you!

If the information we see in space is very old, and the universe "seems" to be expanding, how can we know that it is still expanding?

Hi this is my first post so i hope its ok :). I was wondering what are others opinions on this ? ? THIS IS THE LINK LOOK AT THIS WONDERFUL LINK Have you ever wanted to be a human usb ? ? Personally i don't see where this could go if they were able to start storing large...

Hello all. I was wondering if anyone know of a website where I can learn more about magnetism? Nothing in particular, I just wanted to know as much as I can on the topic. I have a huge interest in this topic and hate spending so much time looking online only to find bits and pieces. Please...

A harmonic wave traveling in +x-direction has, at t = 0, a displacement of 13 units at x = 0 and a displacement of -7.5 units at x = 3λ/4. Write the equation for the wave at t = 0. Homework Equations The equation for a harmonic wave is r = asin(kx-vt+θ) a being the amplitude k...

In (Shannon) information theory, information is said to be the log of the inverse of the probability - what is the information content of 1+1=2? Or for that matter any fundamental axiom.

an ideal electric fan has: a constant supply of 0.49 HP (367.8 watt), 3 motor poles, 8 blades, radius of 36 cm. based on all of that info. how can i find the torque/RPM or both? if you know the answer tell me it with the method to find the torque/RPM. p.s. i just threw in all of the...

Here's the deal. Last year, my self esteem was down the drain. It still is, somewhat, but I'm in a much better place than I was last year, and it's getting progressively better. I started an application to a very small (less than 300 students) liberal arts college (not in the US; but it's...

There seems to be a not very solid description of the concept of conservation of information on the Internet. Leonard suskind described the idea very well on discos program on the hawking paradox but this is the only place I have seen it described well. Any thoughts why cons of information isn't...

I am new to this forum, and posting in forums in general, so this is a slightly strange experience for me. I would like to kindly and respectfully request everyone's cooperation, and if those posting would be respectful in their answers. I was recently reading through an article on an...

I am currently a sophomore attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and majoring in physics. I am very studious and have maintained a 4.0 for the three semesters I have completed so far. I am hoping to graduate with a 4.0, which will be difficult but I think it is achievable. I am...

I was having a discussion with an individual who was claiming that information is a form of energy. I disagreed with that claim. Over the course of the conversation, he provided me with the following article http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2010/nov/19/information-converted-to-energy...

Electronics using heat rather than charge for carrying information!? http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=magnetism-confirmed-to-control-the-flow-of-heat So the article states it's been confirmed that magnetism controls heat. It also mentions that future electronics could use...

Homework Statement I've been going over past papers recently and I can't see how to start this one, I get confused with the reference frames and it looks like I don't have enough information to start this. "An unspecified meson has a mean lifetime , defined in its rest frame, of t =...

I was trying to understand wave function collapse in terms of superposition, but I ran into some problems when relating back to information theory/entropy. It is given in the definition of information in terms of entropy energy is needed to transfer information. That is something we have always...

Of course i don't mean EVERYTHING, but as far as school goes. It seems to me that getting a bachelors in physics gives you most the information, and then grad school is just finding new discoveries based of information you learned getting your bachelors. Is that somewhat right?

The black hole information paradox is resolved by considering that "...information is not lost in a black hole, but that all of the information of what is inside of a black hole can be viewed on the event horizon". As the black hole gets smaller and smaller through the emission of Hawking...

Hello, Here http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath210/kmath210.htm it is written that "...in order to actually convey information, a signal cannot be a simple periodic wave...". I've met this statement in several other places too, this one is just for reference. What does that mean that a simple...

Hi All, I have an unknown 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence below that I am trying to identify. I know its a bacteria but anyone know of a site/program online that allows you to enter the sequence below and it gives the likely close match? TAGGGAATCTTCCGCAATGGACGAAAGTCTGACGGA...

I know its been asked a lot of times, but reading all those threads convinced me that through entanglement we can not send information faster than light (FTL). We can just correlate the result of random experiments. Nevertheless, reading this articles (and a lot of other similar articles)...

Faster than light information travel aparatus Ok, so I am not a physics pro, but I find it very interesting. And I just finished reading about Bell's theorem and I have a question. As I understand it, the laws are like this for entangled photons: 1. If you measure the polarization of photon 1...

A large number of particles are entangled and then sent out as a stream in opposite directions to two far away points. At one point, a sender attempts to transmit a binary string bit by bit : for a 1 bit he measures the position of N (fixed constant) particles, to a high precision. For a 0 bit...

I have not read any formal (mathematical) explanations of black hole thermodynamics, only popular literature on that subject. I have read that the total amount of information, and therefore its entropy, that a black hole can contain is proportional to the area of its event horizon (measured...

I need some help understanding how much information I can pull out of this data. I have a sample made up of two materials. Materials A and material B. Then I took a picture of the sample. The two materials mix quite well, but not perfectly, so on my image I can see that some areas are mostly...

Several questions. 1. Do different observers (with the same knowledge) in different inertial frames agree on the number of states of some specific system? 2. The same question for the different accelerated frames; 3. The most difficult one Say, Alice observes some system X with N particles...

If a particle (let's call it Z) is happily minding it's own business, and a particle-antiparticle pair spawns in it's vicinity (let's call them particle A and B, created from 'zero point' energy), and it just so happens that the antiparticle (let's say B) collides with particle Z before it is...

Homework Statement Learning to solve cubic equations without the knowledge of any roots, and the easiest way I found out so far is still time-consuming Homework Equations The equation and attempt is shown in the image below, tell me if its unclear :shy: The Attempt at a Solution...

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_principle I read: "Entropy, if considered as information (see information entropy), is measured in bits. The total quantity of bits is related to the total degrees of freedom of matter/energy" Bold is mine. Here is my question. I believe that...

An object dropped from the top of a cliff takes 1.80 s to hit the water below. What is the height of the cliff? I do not know of any equation that would work as only one piece of information has been given I could not even begin my calculations as I lacked information. Is it...

Homework Statement A missile is launched from a silo 50m deep. After 20 seconds the engine stops, there is a 10 second period where the rocket is coasting straight up. At the end of this period, the rocket is 8000m above the ground. a) What is initial acceleration of rocket? b) What is...

I appear to have a very specific need, I require some sort of a book that covers the human nervous system from a to z, I need to know everything about it, what it's made of, what each part's function are, how the nerves behave at each particular sections of the body, the calculations that are...

Dear All, I have read many threads on second careers including the excellent blog by ZapperZ "So you want to be a physicist" and then reaching out to you all for guidance. First, a brief introduction on myself: Industry Experience:  I am a US Citizen based out of the Northern NJ/ NY...

[SIZE="2"]Hi there everyone! I am posting after on this forum after quite a while... I am about to make a very important decision regarding my academic career but i am puzzled on which degree would be more beneficial like the title suggests i have the option of "m.sc IT"(mostly concerned...

I wondered if people could clear up some misconceptions I have about radio waves. 1) If I have a 800 MHz wave, does this mean 800 Mbits per second can be transferred in theory? Could I not change the amplitude of this wave every 0.00000000125 of a second, So when a receiver is reading it...