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Questions tagged [calculus]

Calculus is the branch of mathematics which deals with the study of rate of change of quantities. This is usually divided into differential calculus and integral calculus which are concerned with derivatives and integrals respectively. DO NOT USE THIS TAG just because your question makes use of calculus.

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0 answers
24 views

Is this an error in deriving the Rayleigh-Jeans law? Kunstatter and Das's Symmetry SR and QM Ultraviolet Catastrophy

My question regards G. Kunstatter and S. Das, A First Course on Symmetry, Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92346-4\_8 ...
Steven Thomas Hatton's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
73 views

How to understand $W=pc$ in Feynman's Lectures on physics?

Pictures below are from 34-3 of Feynman's Lectures on physics. I can't understand the red line. The $p$ is momentum, $c$ is light speed. I can't understand the red line. I feel the author think $pc$ ...
Enhao Lan's user avatar
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0 votes
7 answers
94 views

How does the result of derivative become different from average ratio calculation?

Lets give an example. Velocity, $v=ds/dt$. If we know the value of $s$ (displacement) and $t$ (time), we can instantly find the value of $v$. But then this $v$ will be the average velocity. Now ...
Arafat's user avatar
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-1 votes
2 answers
67 views

Problem with resources, Walter Lewin's third lecture

I've watched Walter's third lecture in 8.01 and I have a small problem with the last part, where he says that $$\vec r_t=x_t\cdot \hat x\ +\ y_t\cdot \hat y\ +\ z_t\cdot \hat z \\ \vec v_t=\frac{d\vec ...
1 vote
2 answers
126 views

On Landaus&Lifshitz's derivation of the lagrangian of a free particle [duplicate]

I'm reading the first pages of Landaus&Lifshitz's Mechanics tome. I'm looking for some clarification on the derivation of the Lagrange function for the mechanical system composed of a single free ...
GeometriaDifferenziale's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
85 views

What is the actual meaning of $dx$ in $W=-F.dx $, in work in thermodynamics?

what I want to ask is that the $dx$ in that formula is the displacement of piston or the displacement of the center of mass of the gas. also is there any situation where this clarity is useful.
Ujjwal's user avatar
  • 41
-1 votes
1 answer
96 views

Speed is equal to distance divided by time but is this correct?

In this study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9784821/, the distance the punch travelled from start to impact is 0.49 meters and the time taken from start of punch (that's it, they define ...
SnoopyKid's user avatar
  • 364
-1 votes
1 answer
74 views

What does the notation $d𝜏'$ mean?

$\text{I was studying helmotz theorem and saw this notation, what does it mean? How is d}\tau' \, \text{ different from d}\tau \text{?}$ From :- David J. Griffiths-Introduction to Electrodynamics-...
DocAi's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
103 views

How to Find Trajectory of Particle?

Let’s say I have a particle, and I know all the forces acting on it at every position. (Let’s say the particle is in an electric/gravitational field to simplify the mathematics involved.) Now, is ...
V T Naveen Mugundh's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
89 views

Magnetic Field on a point in a current carrying wire

Current carrying wire produces a magnetic field around it, we all know that. A circular wire carrying current produces a magnetic field around it due to the flow of electric charge. This phenomenon is ...
Gandalf73's user avatar
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0 answers
54 views

When can I commute the 4-gradient and the "space-time" integral?

Let's say I have the following situation $$I = \dfrac{\partial}{\partial x^{\alpha}}\int e^{k_{\mu}x^{\mu}} \;d^4k$$ Would I be able to commute the integral and the partial derivative? If so, why is ...
clebbf's user avatar
  • 1
1 vote
1 answer
64 views

Material to Study the Definition, Algebra, and Use of Infinitesimals in Physics [closed]

This is going to be a rather general question about suggestions on best supplementary material to properly explain the use of infinitesimals (or differentials?) for the purposes of integration or ...
0 votes
1 answer
31 views

Differentiation of a product of functions

If I have three (vector)functions, all dependent on different (complex)variables: \begin{equation} a = X^{\mu_1}(z_1, \bar{z}_1), b = X^{\mu_2}(z_2, \bar{z}_2), c= X^{\mu_3}(z_3, \bar{z}_3) \end{...
j_stoney's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
69 views

$\int \vec{E} \cdot \vec{dA} = (E)(A)$?

I've seen this kind of simplification done very frequently in Gauss's law problems, assuming E is only radial and follows some "simple" geometry: $$\oint\vec{E}\cdot\vec{dA}=\frac{Q_{enc}}{\...
JBatswani's user avatar
  • 187
0 votes
1 answer
68 views

What does this equation for density mean?

What does this equation for density mean? $$\rho = \lim_{\Delta V\to\varepsilon^3} \ \frac{\Delta m}{\Delta V}$$
sebbbb's user avatar
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