2 ms·
How so? Consider that the evolution of the system will be the same regardless of where the box is located, and as such the system has translational invariance.
by nextaccountic 5y ago
How so?
Consider that the evolution of the system will be the same regardless of where the box is located, and as such the system has translational invariance. Per Noether's theorem it must conserve linear momentum.
- bodhiandphysics 5y agoI meant the infinitely massive box of physicists dreams. Translational symmetry is broken by the boundaries of the world
- nextaccountic 5y agoYou mean, a box that is immovable because it has infinite mass? Hmmm I don't get it. What boundaries, the box boundaries? How does it break translational symmetry? Anyway in this case I think at least elastic collisions will still conserve momentum, eg this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastic_collision#/media/File:Translational_motion.gif https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastic_collision#/media/File:... conserves momentum even if the box has infinite mass.