Nature Definition and 712 Threads

It is said that Relativity proves that if one travels near the speed of light that time slows down, i.e. that the twin who travels ages less than the twin who stays behind (Twin Paradox) and that distances/lengths contract, but only in the direction of travel. Yet a simple look at these two...

Ok, so I have many questions about light. My basic understanding can be seen here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140117062517AAeH0Dh My first question is, consider transverse waves in water. As the wave moves out, the water molecules move up and down forming the crests and...

Why does the size of an obstacle have to be comparable to the wavelength of radiation for diffraction effects to be noticable ? Secondly, if the size of an opening is much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation , how does the radiation interact with the opening ? Third, can the same things...

Homework Statement Homework Equations The given equations are; Q.1) Find the no of + roots of the equation x^4 -4x+1=0 Q.2) Find the no. of negative roots of the eqn x^4-4x-1=0 Q.3) Find the no of complex roots of the eqn x^4-4x-1=0 The Attempt at a Solution

Hello friends, Why does classical physics not follow a probabilistic nature? And why is conventional predicting absent at microscopic levels? I have searched a little including sites like physics.exchange but only see responses that are "classical physics fails to predict this" or "it cannot...

"..his equations indicated that atoms could indeed form a regularly repeating lattice in time, returning to their initial arrangement only after discrete (rather than continuous) intervals, thereby breaking time symmetry..." I was wondering about the theory's validity and if you had heard of...

I'm reading Peter Woit book "Not Even Wrong" and have been contemplating on the constants of nature or the parameters. I have some questions. 1. Which of the Constants of Nature do you think can be calculated by principles? Should they in principle be calculable? 2. Should a Unified...

Gauge Principle is successful in strong electroweak force modeling in the the form U(1), SU(2), SU(3) and in GR but it fails in SU(5) or attempted gauge symmetry between leptons and quarks, it fails in Supersymmetry, fails in Supergravity, and even fails in String Theory. Don't we even know...

Hello everyone, I have some questions about these rays. And i would be grateful if you could help me, 1- The nature of cathode rays doesn't depend on neither the gas in the tube nor the material of the electrodes. Why? 2-The nature of canal rays depends on the gas in the tube. Why? 3-...

I already know that the right hand rule could just as well be the left hand for the rotational motion vectors like torque and angular momentum, but what about magnetism? It seems like nature behaves strictly "right handedly" for magnetism. Is that true, or could you use the left hand rule, just...

Simple question... The universe is inherently probabilistic because its smallest constituents are inherently probabilistic. Granted. Is it even possible to conceive of a universe that is not probabilistic? To me, Quantum Mechanics aside, the probabilistic nature of a microscopic cosmos...

Think a bit about this, before you answer... Here are some of my musings on the subject: Language, or almost any other means of communication, is a means of mapping our internal experience externally. Our internal experience (which includes, but is not limited to, our sensory data, our...

Hi all, Work done to move a charge between two points in electrostatic field is independent of path taken. what is in this electrostatic force that is causing this? I mean how is it making it path independent? Does it has to do with the inverse-square nature of the field? or Its radially...

What kind of force is Friction, force applied on a particle? Are these are Electromagnetic in nature?

I've heard tell that a mission to the Galilean satellites is difficult for many reasons, but radiation is one of them. Is it safe to say that above all, the worst radiation is when you are landing and have landed on the surface of the Galilean satellites, because you are in Jupiter's Van Allen...

From what I can tell, it seems that 1/x + δ(x) = 1/x because if we think of both 1/x and the dirac delta function as the following peicewise functions: 1/x = 1/x for x < 0 1/x = undefined for x = 0 1/x = 1/x for x > 0 δ(x) = 0 for x < 0 δ(x) = undefined for x = 0 δ(x) = 0 for x > 0...

In Dummit and Foote Chapter 15 on page 657 we find the following definition of a k-algebra: Let k be a field. A ring R is a k-algebra if k is contained in the centre of R and the identity of k is the identity of R. This defintion is followed by the definition of a finitely generated k-algebra...

I have questions regarding nuclear fusion: 1: Can all atoms fuse, say a hydrogen and carbon atom, could they fuse? or does it need to be the same type of atoms. 2: Are there any equations that determine the force needed to fuse? I'd think it'd have to do with x and x2 number of protons...

Hello everyone! This is my first post as a member to this forum and as such will start out with a question that hopefully more brilliant minds than mine can help me with. I am an amateur physicist and simply enjoy pondering theories in regards to many topics in the field. Today I was thinking...

I've been reading up on the quantum observer problem and what it says on the nature of the Universe. Two theories that interest me greatly are the Many Worlds theory and the Biocentric theory (which says consciousness comes before matter and is the core part of the universe). Do you think...

when we say , electron acts like a wave ,does we mean to say that it produces electric and magnetic field or em waves varying with distance and time

Hello guys: A very known fact we live is that mathematics is not falsifiable. There hasn't been a day in history when someone came up and made an experiment to prove that the equation "x^2-5x+6=0" has solutions different than 2 and 3. In science, if we find something that doesn't comply...

It is understood that the universe could be understood only from 10 -43 sec after big bang. is there any study or information about the nature/physics of primodial existence before bigbang

Hi :) In this lecture (), susskind talks about attractive the force between two protons due to them sharing an electron and tunelling etc. He also describes how the electromagnetic force overwhelms this force when the protons are far apart. What is the name of this force? And why do I...

Hi! I found a few old threads lying around regarding this, such as this one, but I thought I'd start a new one asking the question in my own way. So here goes. Is the uncertainty described by the Uncertainty Principal a result of the fact that by measuring something we affect it, or a...

I have been puzzled by this for years, so I would welcome some enlightenment. It seems that Einstein was enamored with Mach's principle while searching for GR, but in the end GR does not seem compatible with it - or rather has nothing to say about it. What I mean is that the proverbial...

Human being's can't take exact random samples from continuous distributions like the uniform distribution on [0,1]. If we attempt to make measurements of physical pheonomena, we are limited to finite precision. Hence it isn't possible do empirical tests of properties involving exact sample...

Nature,Astronomy and Physics have facinated me for years but I had no idea they were eerily similar in other ways. Nature produces hurricanes that in satellite photos look eerily similar to those of spiral galaxies photographed by the Hubble space telescope. Physics uses a model...

i have been pondering something. this is it: if a fellow had a tube with a plunger in it, like a syringe but without an opening for a needle or such. say the plunger is at the bottom of the tube. If you start to pull/raise it, it is my understanding that the force required to lift it would be...

I am wondering ? is it possible that the constants that govern the laws of physics was different during other periods of our universe history ?

Hi. Just wondering: is it possible to construct an equation from known validated physics isolating time on one side of the equation sign? I'm asking because the famous E=MCC tells us Energy and Mass are two manifestations of the same fenomenen. And I have often wondered about the nature of...

Let \mathbb{Q}_\mathbb{Z}[x] denote the set of polynomials with rational coefficients and integer constant terms. Prove that the only two units in \mathbb{Q}_\mathbb{Z}[x] are 1 and -1. Help with this exercise would be appreciated. My initial thoughts on this exercise are as follows: 1 and...

I am going to explain what I am looking for, of course all the while hoping that what I am looking for actually exists, by talking about how I got comfortable with the idea of harmonic oscillators. I never quite understood why the forces on a harmonic oscillator were of the form ## F=-kx ##...

hello everyone i want to ask that what are the theories that proposes the wave nature of light and also those which proves the particle nature of light? list all the theories please ! P.S i don't want a complete description about those theories. thank you

According to Gauss’ law the total number of lines of force over a closed surface is equal to 1/ε times the net charge enclosed within the closed surface. Why should it be a closed surface but not an open surface too? I am unable to find a convincing explanation for it. Since we take into...

So sound is a mechanical wave usually a propagation of atmospheric pressure in a medium in the classical interpretation.I`m curious what happens in the quantum realm ? Also if this pressure force is giving kinetic energy to those atoms,but due to friction is also generates heat energy,and with...

There seems to be an emphasis in several books on general relativity that the metric (components) in itself does not reflect anything physical, only our choice of coordinates. On the other hand it can seem like the authors, instead of being true to this, treat the metric (components) as...

Hey PF, I'm looking for a new way to cut the grass on my lawn and I'm looking to nature for inspiration. I'm an engineer, not a biologist and I could use your help with naming creatures or mechanisms that are used to cut grass, flesh, bark, etc... I've come up with the following good...

Hi all, What is the highest frequency photon ever seen, whether in nature or the lab? This is based on an earlier post of mine, but I think has merit as its own post. Since E=hf, there is no maximum freq or energy of a photon, it seems, on a max freq of a photon. It seems that such high...

Two in-phase sources of waves are separated by a distance of 4.00 m. These sources produce identical waves that have a wavelength of 5.00 m. On the line between them, there are two places at which the same type of interference occurs. Where are the places located? I already know the...

I have been puzzling over a best point of view to comprehend the true algebraic nature of tensors for years now. With vector spaces, I similarly puzzled and concluded that vector spaces are basically sets of abstract members that satisfy a closure on linearity relationship (i.e., any linear...

While sitting contemplating life today, I had a thought. Naturally were connected to the earth...The civilizations throughout history had a much deeper profound connection to it as well. The only difference besides technological advances is we wear shoes with rubber soles...Rubber is not...

I am not quite sure what field the study of spacetime and energy would apply, considering I'm looking at it from a very, very big-picture point of view. I have a few theories and have done some math in regard to these three fields, and some of my conclusions have been quite interesting. I desire...

A pn junction diode is driven by a voltage +E to -E volts preodically when voltage is +E its forward biases and vice versa. when in forward biased a current I flows through it, now if voltage is reversed to -E, current is still I (in reverse direction). This then stay constant for a time...

Fraleigh (A First Course in Abstract Algebra) defines principal ideals in section 27 on page 250. His definition is as follows: =============================================================================================== "27.21 Definition If R is a commutative ring with unity and a \in R...

is coupling G (graviational coupling) actually a constant of nature or it can vary?

Homework Statement A long, straight wire is surrounded by a hollow metallic cylinder whose axis coincides with that of the wire. The solid wire has a charge per unit length of + λ, and the hollow cylinder has a net charge per unit length of +2λ. From this information, use Gauss's law to find...

As a material is heated, it increases in temperature until it enters a phase transition. During the transition, added heat does not increase the temperature. As this heat is being added, what is the substance? Is it a mixture of liquid and gas perhaps? If so, what are the proportions? In...

i've been given an assignment in which I'm supposed to find some characteristics of different halogens. they're all listed as atoms paired with themselves. eg. F2 I2 ect are halogens normally expressed this way? Specifically, I was asked to investigate Astintine. However, I wasn't told...

Please vote and if possible state the reasons for holding your belief. As a review here are the two major views with quotes by leading physicists in quantum foundations: 1. Observed violations of Bell's inequalities implies that nature is non-local: 2. Observed violations of Bell's...