63 posts tagged with math and physics.
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A hula hoop math owie
I am trying to figure out how to calculate the "spinning properties" of a hoop based on its diameter and weight. [more inside]
How best to sell valuable (to the right people) math and physics books?
A recently-passed relative left behind nine boxes of well-regarded math and physics books, which I am being asked if I want to sell. Apparently, the books could be worth quite a bit to people who are interested in math and physics. [more inside]
What mathematical techniques came after calculus?
I was reading this article about Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, and I came upon an interesting quote. I hope that the quote can be explained to me by someone with a background in math and/or physics. [more inside]
Elephants on a Bridge
Mini McGee says, "I learned you can ask physics really weird questions! Like, how thick would a cardboard bridge have to be if it was over a 40-foot gap and could support the weight of an elephant?" [more inside]
I'm studying industrial engineering, should I change my departement?
I'm an industrial engineering student. I am a very indecisive person with a lot of interests. Now I'm considering changing my departement but it's a big decision so I need advices. [more inside]
A Physics Problem About Cooling Iced Tea
I make iced tea in a 2-quart saucepan then pour it into a gallon jug half-filled with cold water. It recently occurred to me that I could have colder tea more quickly if I put the water in the freezer while the tea is steeping. So... [more inside]
Maths for quantum physics?
I’d really like to understand physics better, especially quantum mechanics, string theory all that spooky kinda stuff. But I really lack the maths brain to get in depth. What’s the best way to get my maths a bit more up to scratch? [more inside]
Online Tutor Me To Be An Online Tutor
You may have heard that there's a little partial government shutdown going on. If it continues for much longer I'm going to have to think about making some side money. This got me thinking about online tutoring as a possibility to make some extra cash. Tell me your experience with and tips for online tutoring. Some additional details below the fold. [more inside]
Enough acoustic theory (or is it really like brain surgery?)
I want to understand some acoustic theory to design solutions for outdoor noise (or at least communicate better with acoustic engineers). I know of software for this but want to know just enough of the nuts and bolts. There's lots of info available but I don't want all of it and don't know where to start. [more inside]
Problem for physics, engineering, and other calculation hobbyists..
I need to figure out equivalent drop force. There's a standard that says certain kinds of industrial glass must not shatter when a 2" diameter, 1.2 pound steel ball is dropped on it from a height of 20.25 inches.
What I want to know is if I had a 20 pound object, at what (reduced?) height would I need to drop that object to generate the same impact force on the same surface?
Thanks!
Help with a math problem
I'm trying to help a friend study for an exam using example problems from past exams, which were provided by their teacher as a study aid. This is strictly for test prep, provided by the instructor, and is not graded homework. Unfortunately answers were not provided.
One question has us stuck though, can you help? Details inside. [more inside]
Physics/math problem - how to get from one position+velocity to another
I've got a problem I've been chewing on, and have it partly figured out, but haven't managed to distill it into a form I could, for example, code into a video game. Basically, if I have a starting position and velocity, and want to have a particular ending position and velocity after a given time, what movement accomplishes that with the smallest peak acceleration? I feel like this is probably a solved problem, but I don't know how to search for the topic effectively. [more inside]
Simple explanation of dimensional space
Years ago I read an explanation on how to think simply about dimensions from the 5th and higher. I'm trying to find it again, or the theory which describes it. [more inside]
How to calculate the temp of falling water?
I'm curious how much the temperature of hot water (say, 37ºC) drops as it falls through the air, like in a shower. I don't know enough physics or fluid dynamics to even know where to start googling the problem, but if you had a shower 2m off the ground, and assumed ideal large drops, how much would the water temp drop after falling say, a meter in height? [more inside]
In lieu of quals...
I'm currently in the first year of a PhD program in physics. Right now I am just taking classes. My school does not have a qualifying exam, and there's not much I need to do outside of my classwork. However, I don't want to live from homework to homework -- so I'd like to set aside some extra time for textbook-reading and problem-solving. Have you done this? Tell me about your experience. [more inside]
Did I sell myself short?
I'm currently in the very very early research stages of making a career change and I'm starting to think that I sold myself short in regards to my education. I have a Bachelor of Arts in History and, well, I've really been struggling to find "my place" in the career world for the last 5 years. I'm starting to think I sold myself short by not pursuing more math/science related careers. Is it too late for me to maybe find a career in STEM I would enjoy? [more inside]
How to self-study science from textbooks like a boss?
I'm an (older) grad student doing research in applied physics. I've ticked all my class requirements but have a shortlist of subjects I feel would be useful to my research and my career. I've translated these into a list of reputable, recommended textbooks to read.
I've started reading those, usually in the evenings after all daily tasks are complete, and I enjoy it very much - but does anyone have tips to maximize the payoff of those reading hours? [more inside]
The Mathematics Of Time
So I have a few years to kill and I'd like to spend them fully understanding what physicists and mathematicians know about time. I'm not looking for any sort of summary, I want to understand the math from the bottom up. I once caught my father going through the Annus Mirabilis papers with a red pen; that's the sort of proficiency I have in mind. [more inside]
Probability distributions and their practical applications
I am looking for a resource that lists probability distributions and their common real-world applications. For example, I'd expect to see: Lognormal - daily returns in the stock market. Poisson - failure rates for mechanical equipment, ... [more inside]
Giant numbers (Ex: how many primes are smaller than the largest known?)
Many sites say that the largest known prime is "2^57,885,161 − 1, a number with 17,425,170 digits." Given this and well known research about the density of primes, I think it's at least possible to estimate the number of primes between 1 and 2^57,885,161 − 1. But I don't know how to do this myself.
I really want the answer to this one (the order of magnitude at least), but I've got lots of these, and I'd ideally like more cool ones. :) [more inside]
Netherlands Master's in education vs teaching experience in Asia, which?
I have a B.Sc in computer science and have one year of experience English using my CELTA qualification. Looking around, I see a lot of requests for people with North American B.Sc's to teach Math/Physics/CS in Asia. I'm trying to decide whether to go and start teaching, or whether it is better to get a state teaching qualification (2yr) in the Netherlands first... [more inside]
Narrowing my son's grad school search
My son is a junior physics/math major at a small midwestern state university. He needs to start looking at graduate programs. He would prefer to stay in research or academia. How can I help him start this process? (B.S. for me) Location is not an issue. It's more a question of what programs offer the best opportunities and fields of study. How can we find out that kind of information? How can I help him start with a reasonable number of candidates?
extrapolating temp/energy use difference from small boxes to my condo
Physics geeks! Help me save energy! How do I estimate how much less energy will be used by light siding vs gray siding, based on an experiment with small boxes? I made some identical boxes, put them in the sun, measured temperatures, and am trying to figure out how to scale up. The net has info about different roof colors, but not siding colors. [more inside]
I was banned from collegeconfidential just for asking for some help?
Summer vacations are coming up and I am going to use some of my free time to learn physics and math, subjects that I love. In order to do that i asked collegeconfidential.com if anyone had "exclusive study materials" from their university which they could share. I mentioned that I would like to have acess to tests and exams from other universities and I could give some good materials collected by my colleagues of the physics and math course in exchange. [more inside]
150 to around 120, which bpm is best for pitch?
I have a song at 150 bpm, perfectly in tune. I want to repitch it down to around 120 by slowing it down. At which bpms will the notes be at pitch?
How do I go from one kind of nerd to another?
What steps should I take to switch to the aerospace industry from the academic world? [more inside]
How to pronounce an equation in English.
Please help me pronounce this formula related to projectile motion as it would be spoken out loud: L = v0^2 sin2θ / g [more inside]
How can I relearn high school subjects?
I want to relearn algebra, chemistry, basic mechanics, and basic physics this summer. For free? [more inside]
Math/Physics Question: Stability of an abruptly stopped object
If you have an object with a given base length and a given CG height, how fast can it travel before you have to worry about it running over an obstacle and falling over? [more inside]
How do I learn to be an effective tutor?
If I know the material that I'm teaching well, but don't have any experience with tutoring or teaching, how do I learn the skills and techniques that will help me be an effective tutor? [more inside]
Direct line to Stephen Hawking
Where can I find someone willing to help me do
relatively simple (ha!)
relativistic time dilation calculations? [more inside]
How fat DOES a man have to be to stop a runaway trolley?
How fat DOES a man have to be to stop a runaway trolley?
Check my math/physics please. [more inside]
Why should "e" exist?
Why is the number "e" so... [more inside]
Physical Mathematics?
Is there a book that teaches math via physics? [more inside]
.....wat?
I'd really love a detailed explanation of the terms and humor in this math / science related XKCD cartoon. [more inside]
What was this geometric creature builder website?
Several years ago, I saw a website with a fun little flash or javascript applet thingy where you could build little tensegrity structure creatures, then have oscillating movements applied to the pieces, so that the structures would seem to "walk". I don't remember what it was called! From memory, one of the simpler structures looked sort of like this. What was it? Is it still online? [more inside]
Lengthening your horizons.
How close is the horizon on the moon? On Mercury? On Mars? [more inside]
How to find focal length from image magnification % ?
Math/Optics: How can I derive the focal length of a lens from the magnification percentage of an image? [more inside]
Should I pursue my interest and study college physics more?
Should I pursue my interest and study college physics more? Specifically, should I take a year-long calculus-based program, until I get comfortable that I'm on top of it-- and can really judge my level of interest and aptitude fairly?
Considering I'm a Junior English major. Also considering that it's been 15 years since HS algebra and I've never been good at math. But I want to be. [more inside]
Tell me everything there is to know about waves.
I'm interested in learning everything there is to know about waves. Sound waves, ocean waves, light waves, electromagnetic waves, waves in math, in economics, brain waves, etc, etc.... [more inside]
Biographies of abstract thinkers wanted
Looking for biographies of scientists or mathematicians. [more inside]
What's higher level statistics like?
Math-related career advice requested: is work in higher level statistics compatible with an imaginative-type thinker or would it be total hell? [more inside]
Why doesn't tire pressure vary with vehicle payload (much)?
Stupid physics question: tire pressure. [more inside]
Linguistic study of math/physics equation "language"
I was thinking the other day about "all Greek to me!" as I was reading a physics book w/equations (using the Greek symbols)
And equations are a sort of language, of course.
So I wondered if there's some sort of linguist who's ever looked at the grammar or syntax of math/physics equations and tried to derive, whatever the hell it is linguists derive!
Does this sound like something anyone has heard of? If so, have any links?
The twenty most important numbers
In a talk (at TED) by Brian Greene on string theory he says that there are "there appear to be about 20 numbers that really describe our universe..." He lists a few in his talk, but what are the rest of of those numbers? [more inside]
Bill Nye should be a Mefite.
What are some simple experiments that help explain complicated phenomena? [more inside]
Is it too late to become an amateur physicist?
Is it too late for me to get into physics? [more inside]
Can I learn quantum mechanics?
I'm reading Quantum: a Guide for the Perplexed and I'm enjoying the graphics, history and simplification of the math and science used to explain quantum mechanics. But I'm reasonably well versed in math and science - I took a year of college physics, linear algebra, and diff eq about ten years ago. Is there any chance of me learning to understand the equations and papers of Planck and Einstein that are the basis of QM? Are there any good books that could help walk someone like me through this stuff? Or am I stuck as a layperson unless I earn a degree in math or physics?
Math basics need be strengthening
In need of some daily source of random math problems (upto basic calculus) that will reinforce or (if necessary) re-establish some real fundamental concepts in the algebra portions of calculus, unless something else might work. [more inside]
The relation between temperature, ballistics and sonic booms
Need to get a double-check on some extracurricular science number crunching. A friend and I were wondering about how much effect cold temperatures would have on the speed of sound, and I had the idea to see if some handgun calibers could go from subsonic to supersonic at reasonably cold temperatures. After some extensive calculations, I think I have a pretty good set of numbers, but I want to make sure I'm not wrong. [more inside]
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