Ask a physicist anything. (8)

[Doveaman]

What is a good source for a layman to learn about fundamental particles?

Faith.

Faith will eventually inspire us to build a new machine to find the particles that give the Higgs no mass.

 

[mzungu]

Faith.

Faith will eventually inspire us to build a new machine to find the particles that give the Higgs no mass.

As a products designer myself and having many patents to my name I can assure you that faith has nothing to do with it!

 

[Doveaman]

Son Goku over at EvC forum had a great post on the Higgs.

IOW, the standard model predicted that we should find a particle with very specific characteristics at a given energy. That prediction has been tested and found to be accurate. This is extremely strong evidence that the standard model, which includes the Higgs, is correct.

Scientists are well aware that a sucessful prediction can sometimes be misleading.

 

[Rusticus]

What happens to electricity that is generated, but not used? Where does it go?
(Assuming a huge network failure, presumably generation would continue for some (limited) time at previous levels of demand....what happens to it?)

 

[Jamin4422]

What happens to electricity that is generated, but not used? Where does it go?
(Assuming a huge network failure, presumably generation would continue for some (limited) time at previous levels of demand....what happens to it?)

Usually a failure happens when the electricity is converted to heat. Otherwise the electric is grounded and goes into the ground. Hopefully there is a GFI, surge protector, fuse or breaker to deal with the issue. Once my sister in law was using an appliance in the kitchen and she burned up the mother board on my computer. Good it was still under warrenty. Of course today a kitchen circut has to have it's own breaker. But in 50 year old homes sometimes just about anything goes with the way they wired them.

 

[Rusticus]

Usually a failure happens when the electricity is converted to heat. Otherwise the electric is grounded and goes into the ground. Hopefully there is a GFI, surge protector, fuse or breaker to deal with the issue. Once my sister in law was using an appliance in the kitchen and she burned up the mother board on my computer. Good it was still under warrenty. Of course today a kitchen circut has to have it's own breaker. But in 50 year old homes sometimes just about anything goes with the way they wired them.

Thank you for that.
I was thinking about a much grander scale, like the current blackouts in India. Presumably a lot of electricity is still generated immediately after the network fails. Does the same principle you describe still apply? Or does the excess electricity even cause further failures in the network by means of overloading?

 

[Elendur]

Thank you for that.
I was thinking about a much grander scale, like the current blackouts in India. Presumably a lot of electricity is still generated immediately after the network fails. Does the same principle you describe still apply? Or does the excess electricity even cause further failures in the network by means of overloading?

Overload protection would be the simplest protection available, fuses

 

[mzungu]

Thank you for that.
I was thinking about a much grander scale, like the current blackouts in India. Presumably a lot of electricity is still generated immediately after the network fails. Does the same principle you describe still apply? Or does the excess electricity even cause further failures in the network by means of overloading?

It all depends on the type of failure. If the generators are producing and No fuse has blown then the electricity will go to a load and if the load is a short circuit then something will give. Usually and normally safety cut outs or fuses trip and even though the generator is spinning, electricity is not flowing.

You cannot pump up the cables with more electricity if the cable is cut. Electricity does not work like pumping a tire with air. open circuit means no electrical flow.

 

[Rusticus]

It all depends on the type of failure. If the generators are producing and No fuse has blown then the electricity will go to a load and if the load is a short circuit then something will give. Usually and normally safety cut outs or fuses trip and even though the generator is spinning, electricity is not flowing.

We are getting close to what I am looking for:
Generator is spinning, using force by means of steam pressure, or internal combustion power, or water power: If electricity is not flowing, where does the energy go?

You cannot pump up the cables with more electricity if the cable is cut. Electricity does not work like pumping a tire with air. open circuit means no electrical flow.

Yes, understood.

 

[mzungu]

We are getting close to what I am looking for:
Generator is spinning, using force by means of steam pressure, or internal combustion power, or water power: If electricity is not flowing, where does the energy go?



Yes, understood.

Ok; When you turn a generator that is not under a load (open circuit = No electricity is being consumed) then the power you need is only the power needed to turn the generator at 1500 RPM (1600 RPM in USA). When a load is applied (closed circuit = electricity is being consumed) then the generator generates the electricity to run that load. The heavier the load the more power is required to turn the generator. Just because the generator is spinning it does not mean it is producing electricity. It only produces electricity when the circuit is closed. It is like I am pressing a door with my weight and the moment someone opens the door I will rush in. The pressure I apply to the door does not increase and this pressure can be measured in a generator by a volt meter even when the generator is not under load. It produces this voltage much like the pressure I apply to a closed door.

 

[Michael]

I have a question:

Based on the presumed energy state of the newly found Higgs, is SUSY theory even necessary to explain particle physics theory anymore? As I understand it, the Higgs was found at an energy that may not even benefit much from SUSY extensions. Is that the case?

 

[mzungu]

I have a question:

Based on the presumed energy state of the newly found Higgs, is SUSY theory even necessary to explain particle physics theory anymore? As I understand it, the Higgs was found at an energy that may not even benefit much from SUSY extensions. Is that the case?

I suggest you ask that question here: General Physics Forum I have to warn you though that here be experts in the field of Physics so tread carefully.

 

[Michael]

I suggest you ask that question here: General Physics Forum I have to warn you though that here be experts in the field of Physics so tread carefully.

Done.

 

[Rusticus]

Ok; When you turn a generator that is not under a load (open circuit = No electricity is being consumed) then the power you need is only the power needed to turn the generator at 1500 RPM (1600 RPM in USA). When a load is applied (closed circuit = electricity is being consumed) then the generator generates the electricity to run that load. The heavier the load the more power is required to turn the generator. Just because the generator is spinning it does not mean it is producing electricity. It only produces electricity when the circuit is closed. It is like I am pressing a door with my weight and the moment someone opens the door I will rush in. The pressure I apply to the door does not increase and this pressure can be measured in a generator by a volt meter even when the generator is not under load. It produces this voltage much like the pressure I apply to a closed door.

Thank you.

 

[Zippy the Wonderslug]

I was thinking about owning an EMP just for the lolz.

EMP/HERF SHOCK PULSE GENERATORS

What would be the cheapest way to go about this?

Cheers.

 

[DrkSdBls]

I was thinking about owning an EMP just for the lolz.

EMP/HERF SHOCK PULSE GENERATORS

What would be the cheapest way to go about this?

Cheers.

Build one in your Basement...... And then Never use it cause it's Probably a Federal Offense.

 

[Zippy the Wonderslug]

It's a federal offense?

I didn't know that.

All I wanted was to have a little fun with my stupid neighbors.

 

[DrkSdBls]

It's a federal offense?

I didn't know that.

All I wanted was to have a little fun with my stupid neighbors.

Maybe not Federal, but I can imagine there are so many laws regarding it because there are so many "imaginative" uses you can do with it.

Using it on your Neighbor would be Criminal Mischief. Using it anywhere that it could adversely effect a State or Federal operation could get you 25 to life. Even worse if your Neighbor happens to be a State or Federal employee (even a janitor at your local Post Office counts.)

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I was thinking of number lines last night, how they are infinite. Then I was thinking that observation or choosing a value, eg -6 or +10 gives us a finite location on the number line. Then I thought "Is there an analogy with wave function in QM and wave collapse, on the one hand, and number line infinitude and then a specific finite value on the other hand?" i.e. before "observation" or "pinning the tail on the number line" the number line is infinite and 'everywhere at once but nowhere in particular', but then when a value is chosen it becomes 100% reduced to a specific point so to speak e.g -6 or +10 is a specific location which "collapses" the infinity of the number line to a finite value at a specific point or location. So I thought in the double slit experiment the wave behavior is possibly akin to a infinite number line, and the particle behavior is like taking a reading, determining a finite point, or pinning the tail. Is this analogy of any use?

 

[mzungu]

I was thinking of number lines last night, how they are infinite. Then I was thinking that observation or choosing a value, eg -6 or +10 gives us a finite location on the number line. Then I thought "Is there an analogy with wave function in QM and wave collapse, on the one hand, and number line infinitude and then a specific finite value on the other hand?" i.e. before "observation" or "pinning the tail on the number line" the number line is infinite and 'everywhere at once but nowhere in particular', but then when a value is chosen it becomes 100% reduced to a specific point so to speak e.g -6 or +10 is a specific location which "collapses" the infinity of the number line to a finite value at a specific point or location. So I thought in the double slit experiment the wave behavior is possibly akin to a infinite number line, and the particle behavior is like taking a reading, determining a finite point, or pinning the tail. Is this analogy of any use?

All you have done is observe a number at a specific point in time. By observing a number you are in essence seeing the number in a specific location at a specific moment. The infinity cannot be collapsed as the arrow of time cannot be reversed nor stopped unless of course you are in a singularity.