Here are some notes for my Fluid Dynamics II students about vectors, pseudovectors and how they transform under reflections.

Let n be a unit vector and consider the reflection R in the plane perpendicular to n.

Quantities such as the position r and velocity v are regular vectors and transform …

One reason why Python is such a popular and powerful language is that it is straightforward to learn and make good progress. Learners can quickly become comfortable with many aspects of the language, such as control flow and functions.

The first obstacle that many learners come across is when they …

I was a volunteer and organiser for codebar for several years and was heavily involved in outreach activities during my time at Cambridge. In the face of cuts to DEI initiatives, I believe that the lack of diversity at all levels of the tech sector seriously harms the sector.

Besides …

In the previous post I discussed how, when measuring the frequency (tempo) of a signal that itself changes in time, there is necessarily a tradeoff between the precision in the measured frequency and precision in the time at which the measurement is taken: A more precise measurement of frequency requires …

Most people are introduced to the term 'uncertainty principle' in the context of quantum mechanics. It is usually described as the idea that a particle's position and momentum cannot be simultaneously measured to arbitrary precision, but that improved precision in one must be traded off against increased uncertainty in the …

This page is intended to give a little context behind the "Bohr model" that is introduced in the first Quantum Mechanics sheet.

Background

Like all atomic models, the Bohr model attempts to answer the question "Why do atoms exhibit the properties that they do?", proposing a mechanical or mathematical description …

What is a variational principle?

A variational principle is a mathematical or physical law expressed in terms of maximising or minimising a certain quantity. The simplest example was known to ancient Egyptian builders and surveyers: a taut rope stretched between two points takes the shape that minimises its length. This …