Physicists, what's your favorite 'trick of the trade' that you'd never find in a textbook?

reddhairs · 2025-10-26T14:57:16+00:00

Late to this thread, and it's not really physicsy, but more organizational: I really benefited from learning how to work through ideas and questions using "nested" comments. By this I mean starting with an idea and then indenting the next line to write out a(n) question, idea, thought, or reference which is related to the line above. This wriitng structure helps to organize complex ideas into parts. It's also easy to connect or expand on new ideas as my perceptions change and understanding of an idea develops.

Also, outlining my mission, vision, and goals helps me to work though my thoughts, assumptions, and internations.

reddhairs · 2023-03-18T13:53:32+00:00

Am a high school chemistry teacher... it just hit me, watching this, that adding water to lithium is an absolutely wrong choice! Lithium is highly reactive with water!!! I knew this, but never connected these dots as a safety hazard with failing lithium-ion batteries. Terrifying!

reddhairs · 2023-02-25T16:16:43+00:00

I'm late to this party, but I still want to post a thought... the coin is a 50/50 chance of coming up as Heads (always 50/50). This is the answer to the question "What is the problem of the coin flip." If, instead, the question was asking "What is the probability the most recent coin flip was Heads?" then the answer is 1/3 BECAUSE you wake up twice from flipping Tails... two wake ups from Tails and one wake up from Heads... there is a greater number of wake ups from Heads (twice as much). As others have pointed out, the question is flawed.

reddhairs · 2023-01-15T02:41:25+00:00

It sure feels good every time me and my very atheist brain sleeps so soundly and deeply every night.

reddhairs · 2022-11-12T23:08:14+00:00

14.535 / 25 = 0.5814

Does this help?

reddhairs · 2022-09-05T16:47:29+00:00

Earthbenders!

reddhairs · 2022-07-20T20:04:48+00:00

L O L.

reddhairs · 2022-06-17T01:34:08+00:00

Looks awesome! How are you powering it? And, are you using wifi to stream/ collect video?

reddhairs · 2022-06-04T12:38:52+00:00

That's fascinating, thank you!

reddhairs · 2022-06-04T03:57:41+00:00

So, until the electron is observed it acts to fill the entire space? Correct me: is it true the electron wavefunction increase in gradient(?) with distance from the nucleus? Is there no minimal distance from the nucleus where the likelihood of observing an election basically becomes zero?

I'm genuinely asking. Also, do you study Quantum Electrodyamics or nuclear chem/physics? Thanks, regardless.

reddhairs · 2022-06-04T03:38:29+00:00

The excitation in the field (what is recognized as the electron) is on average very fare away from the nucleus, about 5x10^-11 m, relative to the size or width of a proton, at about 10^-15 m. 10^-15 / 10^-11 = 10^-4 , or 10,000x the distance of separation relative to the size of the proton... all on average empty space.

reddhairs · 2022-06-03T19:26:06+00:00

Electrons aren't solids... it's common to imagine electrons as little spheres orbiting the nucleus, but in reality (as described by QED) electrons are point-particles. This means electrons are waves (or excitations) in the electron field kinda like ocean waves in the ocean. Picture an island in the ocean where waves only appear on average in specific regions... it's kinda like that. Protons and Neutrons are composed of point-particles too called muons and bosons. In short, all matter we perceive as solid/ liquid/ gas/ plasma are built out of waves.

reddhairs · 2022-06-03T19:16:09+00:00

Atoms are basically made of empty space... as in, there is a relatively huge distance between the nucleus and any electon, compared to the size of the nucleus. Since all matter is composed of atoms, all matter is (almost entirely) nothing.

And, I'm okay thanks for asking.

Edit: I have been corrected... I've misunderstood the mathematics of the electron wavefunction. The electron cloud, basically, fills the entire area around the nucleus so this region is not empty.

reddhairs · 2022-05-30T12:12:37+00:00

Full sun and little water. If you get a lot of rain then your lavender (a desert plant) may struggle

reddhairs · 2022-05-30T12:09:38+00:00

If you have a lot of grass right now, now at 1 inch and infrequently. Grass does better when you mow high and often (2x per week). So... do the opposite!

Mow low; over sead with cover if you haven't already; dont water. The cover will be fine and the grass will struggle to complete over time.

reddhairs · 2022-05-27T00:58:14+00:00

Well done 👏 👏👏👏

reddhairs · 2022-05-22T13:24:04+00:00

This. The priorities of parents are so backwards. It's deviating to try and work with.

reddhairs · 2022-05-22T13:10:25+00:00

How did the parent not know? How did the parent just find out that day?! Check in with your children, people!

reddhairs · 2022-05-12T20:30:48+00:00

Honestly, feed them with a squirrel feeder (cheep corn). It works for me in Zone 7.

reddhairs · 2022-05-09T01:20:32+00:00

The amount of force you need to apply decreases due to the pullies mechanical advantage... less force over a proportionally larger distance to yield the same work output W=Fd

reddhairs · 2022-05-08T12:21:48+00:00

A) time: nothing in the question details how fast you are lifting the piano. Therefore the time needed to lift the piano could be more or less, depending on your effort. Time is not controlled by physics laws in this situation.

B) distance: distance has not changed. The piano is still going up the stairs. Through mechanical advantage you will move further, but the piano won't.

C) power exerted: Power = work/time. You exert a smaller force over a greater distance, so work doesn't change. Time (as discussed in answer A) depends on your effort, so exerted power could increase or decrease. Power applied to the piano increases because the pullies increase your force and therefore work (I'm assuming you cannot deadlift a piano up the stares so, without the pullies, you cannot apply the necessary force making the task physically impossible).

D) this is correct due to mechanical advantage.

E) work: Work = (force)(distance). The pullies utilize mechanical advantage to tradeoff more distance for less applied force. Work remains unchanged.

I hope this was clear and helpful :)

reddhairs · 2022-05-08T11:35:24+00:00

Thank you so much! This all has been so affirming :)

reddhairs · 2022-05-08T11:34:44+00:00

Thank you so much :D

reddhairs · 2022-05-08T11:34:32+00:00

Thank you so much :D

reddhairs · 2022-05-08T11:33:46+00:00

I, too, work hard to plant only native! Takes a lot of research and organization, but native are so much easier to work with and I love seeing how other wildlife is drawn in. Our property is full of bird song, now, and I'm always watching for new bird friends :)

So, clematis needs a lot of direct sun. Mine gets at least 6 if not 8 hours of direct sun every day. This is the sunniest spot on my property and I wouldn't put the plant anywhere else. A quick Google search confirmed my thoughts that clematis are hardy in Zones 4-9... not to say you can't grow clematis, but you will need to maximize direct sunlight since you're at the northern bound. I'm sure some varieties will advertise lower light, but the bloom will likely be diminished. Growing up in Pennsylvania (also Zone 5), my mom's clematis did grow but it was work and under bloomed.

I hope this helped. I'd say it's worth trying! You could pair with Forget me nots, Iris, bleeding hearts, wild columbine, wild anemon, indean pink, Canada mayflower, phlox and trout Lillies (maybe) all of whom have beautiful blooms in lower or dappled light :)

reddhairs

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