I want to learn about electricity

[Drewcifer]

wrong thread

 

[blargh]

umm I think you meant this for that other thread.

 

[Bill3000]

It's interesting to note that the electromagnetic force equation is almost exactly the same as the gravitational force equation and is almost exactly the same as the weak force equation, that is they all appear equivalent but act differently at different energy levels, in other words electromagnetic and weak force and gravity all appear pretty simmilar only the energy state appears to effect their behaviour(one might even suggest they are all the same thing or unified, if you were very brave of course) but again I digress

Not true. The weak force has a finite range, while the electromagnetic and gravitational forces have an infinite range. This is due to the fact that the photon and graviton are massless, while the force exchange particles of the weak force are massive. So it can't be a 1/r^2 law, and I doubt that it is even approximately, especially since at the range where the force exists, you can't use the concept of a classical field there.

As well, ultimately it's incorrect. Coloumb's Law (electrostatic inverse square law) is only valid for stationary charges. In reality you have to account for time retardation, excluding the relativistic effects that will happen if a charged particle moves. (It's called magnetism) As well, classically, the laws of electromagnetism are linear, while gravity (General relativity) is not. So ultimately, while gravity and electromagnetism seem similar at first, (due to the fact that their force carrier particles are massless) they are quite different.

This isn't including spontaneous symmetry breaking, in which there is pretty much is solid ground that electromagnetism and the weak interaction are part of the same unified interaction, called the electroweak. And they'd unite with the strong interaction before gravity.

 

[IglooDame]

I don't care what you chant, if you put a large enough potential difference (voltage) between your right and left hand, your body will conduct, and when the current crosses your heart, bad things will happen

But the flipside is also true, if swinging from a power line by one arm, you'll be perfectly fine, as all that current won't be able to create a meaningful current. But the moment you come in contact with the ground, it's bad news bears. I've also heard tale of an Australian Electric worker who managed to build a 20 kV charge on himself, without touching the ground. Rule number one of playing with circuits:

It's not the voltage that kills you, it's the current.

Going by your examples, and working off aircraft pilot rules, are you sure it's not:
It's not the voltage that kills you, it's the ground.

 

[Sidhe]

Not true. The weak force has a finite range, while the electromagnetic and gravitational forces have an infinite range. This is due to the fact that the photon and graviton are massless, while the force exchange particles of the weak force are massive. So it can't be a 1/r^2 law, and I doubt that it is even approximately, especially since at the range where the force exists, you can't use the concept of a classical field there.

As well, ultimately it's incorrect. Coloumb's Law (electrostatic inverse square law) is only valid for stationary charges. In reality you have to account for time retardation, excluding the relativistic effects that will happen if a charged particle moves. (It's called magnetism) As well, classically, the laws of electromagnetism are linear, while gravity (General relativity) is not. So ultimately, while gravity and electromagnetism seem similar at first, (due to the fact that their force carrier particles are massless) they are quite different.

This isn't including spontaneous symmetry breaking, in which there is pretty much is solid ground that electromagnetism and the weak interaction are part of the same unified interaction, called the electroweak. And they'd unite with the strong interaction before gravity.

Ok I was stretching it for the weak force but a nobel prize has been given out for unifying it with electro-magnetism so you'll forgive me. Also I'm talking classical mechanics, we don't need to go GR really, although I'm guilty of broadening this well beyond it's scope too, forgive me, I'm just going on my scattered learning of the last five years.

 

[Sidhe]

thanks now im gonna go shoot myself. Ive had to use that before, it was in high school AP Physics, and our teacher decided to show it to us "for a bit of fun."

Start loading that gun. Well generally the end product isn't that complex it's the derivation that's the pisser here. Try Diracs equation that's more generalised and even worse IMO, seriously it'll start you loading bullets into the gun.

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/DiracEquation.html
Dirac Equation -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics

Isn't physics groovy

I'll have to know what this means one day, assuming I get that far, how do you think I feel!