Chronology | Current Month | Current Thread | Current Date |
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] | [Date Index] [Thread Index] | [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] | [Date Prev] [Date Next] |
> There will be innumerably many z values for each (x,y)
> position. An ant crawling around on the model can
> follow a path which when
> viewed from above projects onto a closed loop in the (x,y) plane; this is
> analogous to close-loop motion of a test charge in the presence of a
> changing magnetic field. In so doing, the ant can climb up the
> helix; this is analogous to the increase in the test particle's
> energy. Emphasize that x and y represent real space, while z abstractly
> represents energy value, which is a nonfunction of x and y.
I'm having a hard time visualizing your ant-on-the-helix analogy. The
closed-loop view of the ant's motion is only a projection of its actual
motion along the helix. Your implication seems to be that the ant can
independently move in a planar closed loop (analogous to closed-loop motion
of a test charge in the presence of a changing magnetic field) and up and
down the helix (analogous to the increase in the test particle's energy).
How can it do one without the other?
> Emphasize that x and y represent real space, while z abstractly
> represents energy value, which is a nonfunction of x and y.