Related papers: Oscar's Physics Phaire: A Collection of Problems
Has it ever occurred to you that the kinematic equations for uniformly accelerated one-dimensional motion are Taylor series expansions? If not, you are in good company. I didn't know this myself until a colleague pointed it out to me many…
This PhD thesis deals with a number of different problems in mathematical physics with the common thread that they have probabilistic aspects. The problems all stem from mathematical studies of lattice systems in statistical and quantum…
Diagrams are ubiquitous in physics, especially in physics education and physics problem solving. Problem solvers may generate diagrams to orient to a scenario, to organize information, to directly extract an answer, or as a tool of…
We solve a difficult problem involving velocity and acceleration components along oblique axes, and propose two problems of central force motion to be solved using oblique axes.
The concept of elementary particle rests on the idea that it is a physical system with no excited states, so that all possible kinematical states of the particle are just kinematical modifications of any one of them. The way of describing…
The basic concepts of neutrino physics are presented at a level appropriate for integration into elementary courses on quantum mechanics and/or modern physics.
Without a doubt many problems in physics arise as a consequence of our philosophical conception of the world. In this contribution however we endeavor to alleviate this scenario by putting forward a philosophical approach under which some…
Exercises with solutions are presented which should allow advanced undergraduate students to understand properties of a flat, uniformly expanding space. No knowledge of general or special relativity is needed besides that the speed of light…
The spring-mass system studied in undergraduate physics laboratories may show complex dynamics due to the simultaneous action of gravitational, elastic, and torsional forces, in addition to air friction. In this paper, we describe a…
A range of issues in the field of hyperon physics is presented, together with an assessment of where important challenges remain.
Several N-body problems in ordinary (3-dimensional) space are introduced which are characterized by Newtonian equations of motion (``acceleration equal force;'' in most cases, the forces are velocity-dependent) and are amenable to exact…
An introduction to the physics and mathematics of the expanding universe, using no more than high-school level / undergraduate mathematics. Covered are the basics of scale factor expansion, the dynamics of the expanding universe, various…
The ability to categorize problems based upon underlying principles, rather than contexts, is considered a hallmark of expertise in physics problem solving. With inspiration from a classic study by Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser, we compared…
One of the main activities in science teaching, and in particular in Physics teaching, is not only the discussion of both modern problems and problems which solution is an urgent matter. It means that the picture of an active and alive…
Symmetries concerning the ordinary coordinate spacetime and internal spacetime are discussed. A possible unification model of electroweak, strong and gravitational interactions is briefly described.
The problem of the electric field of a uniformly accelerating charge is a longstanding one that has led to several issues. We resolve these issues using techniques from linguistics, cognitive psychology, and the mathematics of partial…
We propose a discussion of angular momentum and its Euler equation, with the aim of giving a short outline of their history. This outline can be useful for teaching purposes too, to amend some problems that students can have in learning…
Wall-crossing phenomena are ubiquitous in many problems of algebraic geometry and theoretical physics. Various ways to encode the relevant information and the need to track the changes under the variation of parameters lead to rather…
Cosmic-rays are ubiquitous, but their origins are surprisingly difficult to understand. A review is presented of some of the basic issues common to cosmic particle accelerators and arguments leading to the likely importance of diffusive…
We investigated the effects of student-generated problems on exams. The process was gradual with some training throughout the semester. Initial results were highly positive with the students involved performing significantly better, and…