/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11391697
Every time I begin to think this board isn't populated exclusively by utter fucking morons, I see posts like this which could not possibly be more obviously sarcastic yet garner half a dozen sincerely angry replies

Okay so I'm pretty dumb and slightly struggling in quantum mechanics this semester.

Is you have some measurement that measures a 1/2-spin system, the component along the z-axis comes through as:

|Ψ> = |+> + |->


But then why is the component along the x and y axis any different? For example my book defines x and y as (by convention):

x: |+> = 1/sqrt(2) [ |+> + |-> ]
x: |-> = 1/sqrt(2) [ |+> - |-> ]
and
y: |+> = 1/sqrt(2) [ |+> + i|-> ]
y: |-> = 1/sqrt(2) [ |+> - i|-> ]


What do these axes results mean? Is it implying that you first took a measurement with respect to the z-axis, THEN measured either x or y? I'm having some trouble conceptualizing what these x and y equations are telling you.

That's all. Thanks!

>it's a "non-experts try to reason about a subject based on common usage of the words involved" episode

ITT: people who don't understand what you do.

>Dad shows me broken lawnmower
>"you're an engineer so you know how to fix stuff right?"
>hands me a screwdriver and walks away
>mfw

>>6905593
>Philosophy, i.e. baseless assertions and faith based reasoning, never solves a problem.

XKCD has recently entered my list of Things-I-Used-To-Be-Passionate-About-That-I-Secretly-Loathe

Sometimes his comics are good, but most of the time I just want to fucking stare disappointingly at Randall.

>>6127862

>it doesn't exist either

Explain?

>Dad: So, what do you want to do again?
>Me: Mechanical Engineering
>Dad: ...What? You want to be a damn mechanic?
>Me: N-no, it's engineering, Dad (explain the difference)
>Dad: Medical school is still better. Medicine will never die out. Your cousin makes 300k+ in ER.
>Dad: Don't let yourself be brainwashed by what people tell you in college.

>>5957223
>hopefully injecting the iron of mercury into the core giving it spin

>>5438864

>mfw americlaps willing to eat donkey shit to try to cure cancer instead of paying for chemo