Physics Answers

Here are some answers I’ve written on StackExchange.

Conceptual

• Why can’t the Schrodinger equation be derived?
• Is naturalness meaningful for non-fundamental theories?
• Why are muons considered to be elementary particles in the Standard Model?
• Was X17 predicted before it was observed?
• Is there any evidence that dark matter interacts with ordinary matter non-gravitationally?
• Does “reversing a quantum jump mid-flight” rule out any interpretations of QM?

Undergraduate

• Why does nature favor the Laplacian?
• Quantum made easy: so what is quantum mechanics all about?
• Why are the harmonics of a piano tone not multiples of the base frequency?
• Why not use this experiment to test gravity’s quantum properties?
• Why isn’t an infinite, flat, nonexpanding universe filled with a uniform matter distribution a solution to Einstein’s equation?
• Does Feynman’s derivation of Maxwell’s equations have a physical interpretation?

Graduate

• What is the analog of the Aharonov-Bohm effect for general gauge fields and for gravity?
• Is the effective Lagrangian the bare Lagrangian?
• Can electrons be electrically polarized?
• Why do we need complex representations in grand unified theories?
• If turning a perfectly monochromatic laser on for a finite time gives a frequency spread, where did the other frequency photons come from?
• What are the assumptions that C, P, and T must satisfy?

Academia

• What’s an efficient way to learn simple formulas by heart without understanding?
• Do you keep your study notes publicly available?
• Is academia dying?