Introductory Definition and 358 Threads

Hello all, I am considering majoring in physics and was wondering if there are any books that anyone would like to recommend to introduce me to the topic. i am currently in algebra so I can't handle anything too mathematically complex, but I AM interested in the mathematical side of the...

Hi! I'll enter college next year, and I plan to major in Electrical Engineering. I'm looking for introductory EE textbooks to test the waters a little bit and decide if this is really the field I want to go to. I have a strong background in Physics and Math: I've studied Electricity and...

Hi, I'm sure this topic is pretty bland, but nonetheless! Why are alpha and beta particles called radiation when they have mass?

Hello! I recently joined this forum and so far it has been great. I had one question though. I am a freshman in high school and I am really interested in physics, especially cosmology. Although I am taking biology this year, I will take physics next year. I was just wondering which books you...

I'm planning my schedule for next semester and checking out what books I'll need. Before I can take Real Analysis, I must take a course called "introduction to analysis" that uses the following textbook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0471321486/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Does anyone have any experience...

At this point I feel like my classical mechanics I course is an engineering course. While I do enjoy physics, I am much more interested in the theory behind it.. I find myself easily engulfed in calculus but when it comes to physics it is harder to motivate myself. I love proofs and mathematics...

Hello, I'm looking for an introductory model theory book that is relatively cheap. Any suggestions? Currently reading from "A Shorter Model Theory" by Wilfrid Hodges from a school copy, I may buy this one .. unless anybody has any other suggestions? Thanks

Folks, I am starting a module in functional analysis undergrad level. I have been suggested introductory functional analysis by Kreyszig, but in instead of buying another expensive book is there a good online source like a pdf on in this topic that I could avail of? Any help will be...

Problem10.1, Introductory QM,Liboff. Homework Statement If \psi (\mathbf{r},t) is a free-particle state and b(\mathbf{k},t) the momentum probability amplitude for this same state, show that \iiint \psi^* \psi d \mathbf{r}=\iiint b^* b d \mathbf{k} Homework Equations \psi_\mathbf{k}...

Hi there, I've started working through Spivak Calculus, and was wondering if there is an introductory physics textbook that is of similar level of difficulty? I have Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Knight but it's a little slow. Thanks.

Homework Statement How many grams of solid calcium hydroxide are needed to react with 14.2 mL of a 1.62 M nitric acid solution? Assume that the volume remains constant when the calcium hydroxide is added. Ca(OH)2 + 2 HNO3 Ca(NO3)2 + 2 H2O Homework Equations Molarity=moles of...

I'm reading Introductory quantum mechanics written by liboff. When I solve problems, I stuck with calculation such as Intergral(-inf to +inf) e^(-x^2)dx, Intergral(-inf to +inf) (x^2) e^(-x^2)dx, and other many integrals. I studied thomas' calculus but I think I haven't seen these in the...

I am currently taking an introductory course to DE's that has a heavy emphasis on theory (my professor stresses that this is a math course, not an engineering/applications course). Unfortunately, my professor, though he tries hard, is not good at explaining anything. Even more unfortunately, the...

so for a practice exam we have the following problem: 1. Write a commented and well-structured Matlab function that takes two positive integers, a and b, as the input, and then displays the sum of all numbers that are odd or can be divided by 3 without a remainder between a and b (including...

Homework Statement Evaluate lim ((2+h)^4 - 16)/h h->0 Homework Equations Difference of squares The Attempt at a Solution knowing that the top of the fraction is a difference of squares i factored it and arrived at lim h->0 ((2+h)^2+4)((2+h)^2-4)/h this is where i got stuck

Hi everybody, thank you in advance for all comments/help. First off, I know I am new here, but a friend of mine is a casual on this board and he suggested I try it for help. I have just begun a 2nd year university introductory to mechanics class, and I have an assignment due tomorrow. I...

Homework Statement 1) http://i.imgur.com/JbK13.gif The figure below depicts the forces acting on a safe being pushed up an ramp by movers, Fa. The mass of the safe is 500 kg, the coefficient of static friction along the incline is μs = 0.41 and the coefficient of kinetic friction along the...

Hi, Can anybody recommend me a good video lecture series on introductory digital/logic design? I want to watch these while I'm on break from my studies. Thanks

Hey folks, I'm about to graduate with a B.S. in Neuroscience from a public uni in Chicago, USA (not listing school to block search engines). We aren't required to take any physics classes for the B.S. in Neuroscience, but I've been thinking about going to medical school as of late, because...

I would like to begin some self study of general relativity. I know the math invlolved is quite rigorous so I would greatly appreciate suggestions on books that will put my math level on par with G-rel. I currently have a knowledge of multi-v calc and vector cal (not tensors), linear algebra...

Homework Statement Consider a system composed of 2 harmonic oscillators with frequencies w and 2w respectively (w = omega). The total energy of the system is U=q * h_bar * w, where q is a positive negative integer, ie. q = {1, 3, 5, ...}. Write down the number of microstates of the system...

Hey folks, I've been interested lately in reteaching myself probability as a foundation for information theory. I took an introductory course about 8 months ago and while I did fairly well, I don't feel like I took much intuition away from the course. Are there any recommendations on books or...

I'm looking for the title to a popular introductory book on graph theory. For the best possible recommendation, perhaps it would be wise for me to give you signals of my academic maturity. I completed undergraduate math major in May 2010. Since then I've been working, but I'm looking to get...

Anyone have a great recommendation for a textbook on 1st semester/year/undergraduate differential equations? I would like for: 1. The books style to cater to auto-didactic learning. 2. Emphasis on engineering problems/applications and/or emphasis towards engineering students. (i.e. non-math...

Linear Spaces Norms and inner products Holder’s inequality Minkowski’s inequality Normed linear spaces Cauchy sequences and complete spaces Banach spaces Reitz representation theorem Hilbert spaces Orthogonal bases Generalized Fourier expansions Lebesgue Measure and...

Hi everybody, Just recently I got an epiphany (or a crazy idea, I don't really know which one) that I want to pursue a masters, with the emphasis of skipping my masters half way through in order to upgrade to a doctorate. The program that I am in (B.Sc in Medical Physics, 2nd year) does not...

As the title states, I am looking for recomendations, and explanations as to why it was a good book. Some current suggestions I have had is by Robert L. Boylestad. Thanks in advance!

After learning the basics of Java, what should I be learning about to help me prepare for the rest of a Comp Sci degree? I am running Mac OS X, so I was thinking of learning my way around the terminal/bash, or something else Unix-based. My ultimate goal is software engineering, so I know...

I am looking for copies of Physical Science: An Introductory Study by William A. Andrews (ISBN: 0136714463) to use as a lab manual. (Please see attachment for photo of book cover.) I tried to order 30 copies from BiggerBooks.com, but they were unable deliver on the contract. I have purchased...

Hello! I'm quite familiar with non-realtivistic QM and particle phenomenology. What I do really miss is a text, which builds on the postulates of quantum mechanics and stresses the similarities and differences between "single particle" nonrelativistic QM and QFT. I want to read about...

Hey everyone. I thought I'd finally sign up, since I've been lurking here for quite some time. In terms of my maths / science background, it's somewhat poor. I recently became friends with a physicist who peeked my interest in chemistry. Over the last few weeks I've learned more about org...

Homework Statement Given ||v|| = 6 and u = < 0,3 > find the vector v with the given magnitude and the same direction as u Homework Equations u = v / || v || The Attempt at a Solution It seems simple enough, substitute the appropriate numbers into the equation and solve for v...

Here's my first semester course description: I want to self study during summer and was wondering what book would be best to cover all these topics? In case it matters, I've taken Calculus I and am pretty comfortable with it..

Hi, I looking for books that have practice problems (with explanations would be nice) on general introductory level Calc. based Classical Mechanics. And for Electromagnetism I'm looking for an introductory book that has practice problems. I haven't taken Multivariable Calc. yet (I'll be...

Homework Statement a) For which values of a does ax = 1 have a solution in Z5? b) For which values of a does ax = 1 have a solution in Z6? c) For which values of a and m does ax = 1 have a solution in Zm?Homework Equations None.The Attempt at a Solution Answers: a) All a ≠ 0 b) a = 1, 5 c)...

As a summer project which I wanted to do last summer but failed, I want to learn some stuff about computer networks and as an end result be able to make a simple bot that can play some simple online game. What got made me gave up last time was I was using a packet sniffer and I had no idea...

Did anyone who now does mathematical research feel as if what they did in their upper-division courses was not only more relevant to their career as a researcher, but very much not related to their introductory courses? I'm sure this depends on the school, but at mine all of the 100 and 200...

I need a good manual about electricity/electronics basics. One that goes for Kirchoff's laws, series/parallel circuits calculations, power/energy...etc. Again, the basics. and most importantly, has many worked problems. Can anyone recommend one?

Hi everyone, :wink: I have a copy of this book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/013097417X/?tag=pfamazon01-20 I don't think it is a good book. Even some people on Amazon also note that. I am not very good in math and want to understand things from conceptual point of view. Some books use math...

Homework Statement 1-3 A burst of 1014 electrons accelerated to an energy of 15MeV per electron is stopped in a copper target block of mass 100g. If the block is thermally insulated, what is its temperature rise? The specific heat of copper is 0.09 cal/g K Homework Equations m*Cp*dT =...

Okay, two questions: 1) Using a normally closed push button, design and sketch a circuit that will generate a logic '0' when the button is pressed, and a logic '1' when the button is released 2) Using a normally open push button, design and sketch a circuit that will generate a logic '0'...

I'm currently in classical mechanics, and we're doing collisions and two body problems currently. A good portion of the material is covered only in the notes. I could use some supplementary materials. I've looked around on the internet but I haven't found any good resources yet. I was...

For the requirements for the program I am going into I only require one of these two classes so I was curious as to which one would be the better choice in terms of usefulness for an ecology major, and in terms of how easy the course is.

Homework Statement A pendulum is constructed using a thin rod (m1 = 2.0 kg, L = 1.0m) and a uniform sphere (m2 = 1.0 kg, R = 0.50 m). The period in "s" for small oscillations is: a) 1.5 b) 1.7 c) 2.0 d) 2.2 e) 2.5 Homework Equations T = 2pi *sqrt(I/mgd) The Attempt at a...

Title says it all really, I'm a second year undergraduate from oxford, and currently the textbook I've been using for stat. mech. is "Concepts in Thermal Physics", which was wirtten by my lecturer. I'd like (ideally) something a bit longer to work through suring the holidays, that would provide...

Thank you everyone for being a source of help in previous problems I've posted here. I'm starting an intermediate course in Differential Equations and I'm enjoying it so far, but this one problem on my homework seems to be giving me a problem and I think that I haven't fully grasped the...

Hi there, Would anyone be able to help with the below problem. Vertical cylinder, closed at the lower end, fitted with a frictionless piston of mass 200kg and cross-sectional area 0.1m^2. The cylinder contains air which is heated such that its state changes and the piston rises through...

Hello all, I am studying for an Introductory Astronomy final and I came across an old exam with a few True and False Questions Supermassive black holes are found in the centres of large galaxies (Supermassive is tricky here, not sure on this) Inflation is the name we give to...

Hi Can anyone recommend me good introductory textbooks on fluid mechanics, both from the physical and engineering perspectives?

Hello >:D Can u suggest me any book which has well explained basic (introductory)ideas - Louis de Broglie's equation ,uncertainty principle ,the wave model by Erwin Schrodinger - in its starting chapter. Thanks in advance (^.^)