Archives for Physics - Page 3
Does time stop for a photon? If so, how can it move (travel)?
The photon's time doesn't 'stop' - as far as we can tell. Relativity doesn't have frames of reference moving at c, so it's not possible to define how fast time…
Rare finds in Special and General Relativity
Understanding the two theories of relativity is not just a pastime for physicists. There is something existential and comforting about imagining ‘riding on a light wave’ and how the Universe…
de broglie phase velocity (how the wave function transforms into an ELECTRIC field)
What exactly is the phase of a wave - of any sinusoidal wave? The phase is the passing of crests at regular intervals. If it is is uniform sine (or…
Physics books – Self Learning Books For Advanced Physics
Also Read Self Learning Books on Cosmology and Astrophysics and Rare Finds in Relativity After I prematurely quit my Physics program (University of Florida), I still attempted to keep up…
Table of Contents–Meeting 1
Problem Set 1 These are the contents of our first meeting - held on June 9th, 2015 Problem Set 1 Download Zip Recommended Reading List James Nearing – Mathematical…
The real task of the mathematical physicist
What exactly IS a DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION and how does it arise in the first place? Most physics courses start by taking the equation as a GIVEN – not bothering to…
Relativity is more math than physics
Relativity applies to all branches of physics. However, it is more of a geometrical framework – on which the laws of physics can be described. Calling relativity physics would be…
On the Ether
One of the things I never fully grasped in college was the ‘Michelson Morley’ experiment. I understood what it was for (proving the constancy of the speed of light) –…
Combining Relativity and Quantum Mechanics – A first step
Quantum Mechanics starting point - The Schrodinger Equation \begin{equation} \label{eq:se} i\hbar\frac{\partial\psi}{\partial t} = H \psi \end{equation} All laws of physics are required to be Lorentz Invariant . The above equation…