RE: On kids reading Harry Potter?
February 8, 2016 at 10:41 am
(This post was last modified: February 8, 2016 at 10:46 am by Alex K.)
I had a look at the only Russian field theory textbook in my library (Landau&Lifshitz), and there's a calculation of the width of spectral lines which bears some resemblance to this.
![[Image: 20160208_154156.jpg]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/46853629/20160208_154156.jpg)
This indeed explains the uppercase Gamma which I had interpreted as the inverse lifetime of unstable particles. They would indeed correspond to lifetimes in such a calculation, but of excited atomic states, not elementary particles. Very interesting.
![[Image: Favim.com-13264.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=favim.com%2Forig%2F201104%2F05%2FFavim.com-13264.jpg)
This indeed explains the uppercase Gamma which I had interpreted as the inverse lifetime of unstable particles. They would indeed correspond to lifetimes in such a calculation, but of excited atomic states, not elementary particles. Very interesting.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
