When nothing exists, nothingness exists. (Because I'm alive and we use words.)
If so, existence exists.
Is there a state where existence doesn't exist?
Is there a state where nothingness doesn't exist?
When I die, will nothingness continue to exist?
When I die, will existence...
I finished my undergraduate curriculum in physics and I'm out of school, working from home. School doesn't tell me what to do anymore.. I'm looking for an interesting problem I can work on, either a problem that could be solvable mathematically or some hands-on-experiments that I can do at home...
I have just discovered how to stop worrying! Here it goes (Unicode):
Definition.
Let H be the set of all humans, A the set of all actions, and W ⊂A be the set of all worries. A person p ∈ H is said to be worrying if and only if p's set of choices C = {f(p)} (where f(p) ∈ A) either has...
Ok, the operation for SU(n) is always matrix multiplication.
Now my next question is, what kind of matrices are concerned? What do the elements of the matrices represent?
When physicists say "elementary particles form a group," what kind of operations and sets are in question? (I presume, a group consists of a set and an operation)
I have heard of Lie groups. What are the prerequisites for studying Lie groups? I don't know what topology is per se, but I have taken a Fourier analysis class. I only have a superficial knowledge about Hilbert space (not in a rigorous "theorems, proofs and q.e.d's" manner).
I'd like to learn group theory to understand QM and particle theory, and I looked at several books on discrete mathematics but they didn't mention SU groups. I'm an absolute beginner in group theory or discrete math, but I don't want to spend too much time on materials unrelated to physics. Do...
Same thing with work... work is "done" from one object to another, just like heat "flows" from one to another. Temperature does not "flow" or "be done"... it just takes some value all the time. By contrast, work and heat are something that pop up when an event associated with the variable...
Heat(or work) is not a state variable because heat is not a property of an object but rather a quantity that's associated with an incident of a *change* of states (i.e. temperature). Heat "flows" from one object to another, so heat does not belong to any objects, but it belongs to the phenomenon...
The book says "the total charge induced on the plane is -q." Maybe "induced charge on the plane" means something different from the net charge of the plane? How is "induced charge" measured?
When a point charge of +q is put near a conducting infinite plane, net charge of -q is induced on the plane. Why and how does this occur? I thought that although the charges (free electrons) in the conductor will move (so that the electrons are closer to the point charge), the net charge of the...
I'd like to know the actual process (thought process) of how Heisenberg came up with the concept of uncertainty principle and noncommutation, which led to matrix mechanics. Do you know of any good resources for that?