Recent content by mindarson

  1. M

    B Relationship Between Density and the Hubble parameter

    I'll press on with my studies with this analogy in mind. Thank you for the patient explanation! Your latest response will help me untie my mental knots about this subject.
  2. M

    B Relationship Between Density and the Hubble parameter

    Argh, none of this makes sense to me at all. It seems like you're saying that in the past, the Universe had both a) higher mass-energy density and b) faster expansion. But that makes no sense, because the gravitation from higher mass-energy density would slow down the expansion, right? So if...
  3. M

    B Relationship Between Density and the Hubble parameter

    I'm just looking for conceptual clarification re: the relationship between matter density and the Hubble parameter in the Friedmann equation. Just for quick reference, the equation I'm looking at is H2 = 8πGρ/3 - ka-2 (I'm working through Liddle's Intro text, and for now we're ignoring the...
  4. M

    I Conceptual question about spin state rotations

    My question is why it makes sense to talk about two-dimensional spin-state vectors rotating in ordinary space as if they were ordinary position vectors. Forgive me, but I can't see how your reply helps with that. Can you expound any further?
  5. M

    I Conceptual question about spin state rotations

    My question is conceptual but specific. I'm self-studying Townsend's text 'A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics.' In Sec. 2.2 pg 33 (in case you have the book handy), he introduces rotation operators, in the context of spin states for spin-1/2 particles. He states that the rotation operator...
  6. M

    I Holographic Principle discussion in Sean Carroll's book

    Okay. But it's not like my grandma wrote this stuff, and it's not like it isn't well-established physics. The solution to your objection is for me to point to page 421 of the first edition of Carroll's textbook Spacetime Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity, published by...
  7. M

    I Holographic Principle discussion in Sean Carroll's book

    Wow, thanks for trying! In the first place, nothing in my post implies that I am NOT looking at textbook-level sources. And indeed, I am. But parallel to that steeper learning curve, there is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to get the general lay of the land from popular books. That's...
  8. M

    I Holographic Principle discussion in Sean Carroll's book

    am reading Sean Carroll's pop-science book 'From Eternity to Here' and am having trouble connecting the links in his discussion of the Holographic Principle. At the outset, I would ask that you try to answer in terms of Carroll's discussion and without moving into concepts much more advanced...
  9. M

    Proving part of the ratio test

    This is what troubles me most. A bit hand-wavey, I fear. I am wondering if I shouldn't try to show this explicitly using epsilonic reasoning, etc.
  10. M

    Proving part of the ratio test

    This is not a homework problem. I'm doing it for fun. But it is the kind that might appear on homework. Homework Statement I'm trying to prove that if lim n→∞ |an+1/an| = L < 1, then \Sigma an converges absolutely and therefore converges. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution Here's...
  11. M

    Physics of Water Pressure Regulators/Reducing Valves

    Thanks for your thorough reply! I'm still thinking on a lot of it, but there is one big question I have about what you're telling me. I think I'm misunderstanding something fundamental about the mechanism. If increased flow results in decreased downstream pressure, would that not mean that...
  12. M

    Physics of Water Pressure Regulators/Reducing Valves

    My brother is a professional plumber and I'm a physics major, so he often comes to me for explanations of some of the physics underlying his job. I'm familiar with the basics of fluid mechanics, e.g. hydrostatic principles, continuity equation, Bernoulli's law, Poiseuille's law. But often I...
  13. M

    Resistance in a Medium Between 2 Spheres

    Homework Statement Two small conducting spheres with radii a and b are imbedded in a medium of resistivity ρ and permittivity ε with their centers separated by a distance d >> a, b. What is the resistance R between them? Homework Equations R = V/I I = ∫JdS = (1/ρ)∫EdS The...
  14. M

    Solving Schrod. Eqn. for Potential Barrier with E > V

    Ok, I seriously feel like a heel. I see my mistake. The complex exponentials DO describe an oscillating function, according to Euler's equation. Ugh. Sorry about that :(
  15. M

    Solving Schrod. Eqn. for Potential Barrier with E > V

    As far as what is leading me to go against my own reasoning, every text I've consulted, both physical and online, tells me that in the region x > 0 where V0 > 0 (but E > V0), the solutions to the appropriate Schr. Eqn are of the form Cexp(ikx) + Dexp(-ikx) where k is the wave number...
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