Tuesday, October 17, 2006
not even silent
"Not Even Wrong" hasn't been updated in five days...
That really strikes me as odd. The Reference Frame is updated almost every day, usually several times a day. Have the anti-string bloggers fled the scene...?
No, of course not.
Now that the fall semester is more than half-over, we've gotten to the real details in quantum physics. Like the different terms in the wavefunction if a particle goes through a barrier: reflection and transmission coefficients, the wavevector k versus the kappa reflecting term, etc. We're starting three-dimensional problems next week, which are beyond the scope of Volume 1 of Understanding Quantum Physics.
For those who aren't familiar with this textbook... you're not missing much. I think the book's title is its worst problem; it makes quantum physics out to be understandable. Does it clarify quantum physics? Not much. Is it useful in giving someone the sense of calculational difficulties in quantum physics? Absolutely. Are the problems ridiculously long, even if they're not difficult? Absolutely.
I do enjoy the various literary quotes at the beginning of each lesson, though. Understanding Quantum Physics does prove that one of the "two cultures" is... more advanced than the other... for the most part. ¶ 10:25 PM
That really strikes me as odd. The Reference Frame is updated almost every day, usually several times a day. Have the anti-string bloggers fled the scene...?
No, of course not.
Now that the fall semester is more than half-over, we've gotten to the real details in quantum physics. Like the different terms in the wavefunction if a particle goes through a barrier: reflection and transmission coefficients, the wavevector k versus the kappa reflecting term, etc. We're starting three-dimensional problems next week, which are beyond the scope of Volume 1 of Understanding Quantum Physics.
For those who aren't familiar with this textbook... you're not missing much. I think the book's title is its worst problem; it makes quantum physics out to be understandable. Does it clarify quantum physics? Not much. Is it useful in giving someone the sense of calculational difficulties in quantum physics? Absolutely. Are the problems ridiculously long, even if they're not difficult? Absolutely.
I do enjoy the various literary quotes at the beginning of each lesson, though. Understanding Quantum Physics does prove that one of the "two cultures" is... more advanced than the other... for the most part. ¶ 10:25 PM
