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Unsolved problems in physics

21 points| rms | 17 years ago |en.wikipedia.org | reply

27 comments

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[+] BobNeumann|17 years ago|reply
"Why did the universe have such low entropy in the past, resulting in the distinction between past and future and the second law of thermodynamics?[7]"

I die laughing at this one. "I know that my theory of the origin of the universe doesn't align with the laws of physics. SO THE LAWS OF PHYSICS MUST HAVE CHANGED SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY!"

ROFLLMAO

[+] Maro|17 years ago|reply
What are you talking about?
[+] cool-RR|17 years ago|reply
Physicists are ridiculous. Here's an unsolved problem for you:

Given the positions, velocities, masses and charges of a set of macroscopic bodies moving in vacuum, (in speeds which may be relativistic,) calculate the position of each of these bodies after a specified amount of time `t` has passed. (Neglect gravity.) (All quantities are given numerically, and the answers should be numeric too, allowing for a specified margin of error.)

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Until physicists can solve a problem like this, they can take their time with quantum gravity and string theory.

[+] jlefo7p6|17 years ago|reply
I think you were referring to the n-body problem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-body_problem). If so, I suggest not neglecting gravity.

Without gravity (and either assuming these guys don't run into each other or can somehow pass through each other), the position of each body is independent, and can be found through the following equation:

Position = Initial + (Velocity * Time)

Blah blah vector components blah blah, but you get my point.

[+] DarkShikari|17 years ago|reply
Mathematicians are ridiculous. Here's an unsolved problem for you:

Take a positive number n. If n is odd, triple it and add 1. If n is even, halve it. Repeat the process ad infinitum but stop if n reaches 1. For all numbers n, will this series converge to 1?

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Until mathematicians can solve a problem like this, they can take their time with the Riemann Hypothesis and Axiom of Choice.

;)

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collatz_Conjecture )

[+] tome|17 years ago|reply
There's a big difference between having a verifiable theory for something which is computationally hard, and having no theory at all!
[+] schtog|17 years ago|reply
I think we should close all hospitals. Those stupid doctors can't cure all diseases therefore medicine is complete useless.
[+] cool-RR|17 years ago|reply
I apologize for saying physicists are ridiculous.

I hope that people who reply to post will state what they think is the status of the problem I raised. Do you think it's solved (give a solution)? Unsolved? Unimportant? Explain.