Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: UberVernunft
The theoretical equations themselves are differential equations. Their sol'n involves solving an integral by whatever method.

Feynman diagrams are used in QED, quantum electrodynamics, they represent all possible interactions that may occur. A path integral is used to find the minimum energy for each interaction. The sum of these interaction energies is the total E. Without writing down the possible interactions of any particular situation the original theoretical eq. is useless, because the solution involves finding the energy that is a sum of all possible interactions. Without knowing the terms in the sum the actual sum can never be totaled. Each term in the sum involves finding the minimum energy for the particular interaction, that's where the path integral, or it's equivalent enters as a necessity.

74 posted on 01/24/2002 12:28:40 PM PST by spunkets
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies ]


To: spunkets
The theoretical equations themselves are differential equations. Their sol'n involves solving an integral by whatever method.

Sorry but this is incorrect. Pick up a book on numerical methods and you'll find many ways of numerically solving differential equations that do not involve integrals or integrating.

76 posted on 01/24/2002 12:45:04 PM PST by UberVernunft
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies ]

To: spunkets
Feynman diagrams are used in QED, quantum electrodynamics, they represent all possible interactions that may occur. A path integral is used to find the minimum energy for each interaction. The sum of these interaction energies is the total E. Without writing down the possible interactions of any particular situation the original theoretical eq. is useless, because the solution involves finding the energy that is a sum of all possible interactions. Without knowing the terms in the sum the actual sum can never be totaled. Each term in the sum involves finding the minimum energy for the particular interaction, that's where the path integral, or it's equivalent enters as a necessity.

All you've done is described in a round about way the perurbation expansion typically used in solving the QED equations. It is simply a mathematical method of solving the original equations.

77 posted on 01/24/2002 12:51:03 PM PST by UberVernunft
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies ]

To: spunkets
The theoretical equations themselves are differential equations. Their sol'n involves solving an integral by whatever method.

I should also point out that even if a numerical approach to the QED equations were to yield a set of integrals, these would tyically *NOT* be the same set of integrals that correspond to Feynman diagrams.

79 posted on 01/24/2002 12:54:32 PM PST by UberVernunft
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies ]

To: spunkets
The theoretical equations themselves are differential equations. Their sol'n involves solving an integral by whatever method.

Eulers method is a simple method of numerically solving differential equations that does not involve an integral in any sense.

Eulers Method

83 posted on 01/24/2002 1:06:22 PM PST by UberVernunft
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson