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Article #5056Re: Why "p" for momentum?
From: SCOTT I CHASE
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 18:24
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 18:24
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In article <1992Nov16.140908.1@physics.monash.edu.au>, voros@physics.monash.edu.au (Joe Voros) writes... >mox@vpnet.chi.il.us (William Moxley) writes: >> Does anyone know why "p" was chosen to represent momentum? Other than >> that "m" was already taken? > >It is tied to the fact that "q" is used to designate position. As my >..signature has attested for a bloody long time now, Quantum Mechanics is >God's way of reminding us to mind our P's and Q's. Actually, I never thought about this before. It always seemed patently obvious why we should use p for pmomentum! -Scott -------------------- Scott I. Chase "It is not a simple life to be a single cell, SICHASE@CSA2.LBL.GOV although I have no right to say so, having been a single cell so long ago myself that I have no memory at all of that stage of my life." - Lewis Thomas
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!think.com!ames!agate!dog.ee.lbl.gov!csa2.lbl.gov!sichase From: sichase@csa2.lbl.gov (SCOTT I CHASE) Newsgroups: sci.physics Subject: Re: Why "p" for momentum? Date: 16 Nov 1992 10:24 PST Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory - Berkeley, CA, USA Lines: 19 Distribution: world Message-ID: <16NOV199210243127@csa2.lbl.gov> References: <1992Nov14.133853.10928@vpnet.chi.il.us> <1992Nov14.151943.1@cubldr.colorado.edu> <1992Nov16.140908.1@physics.monash.edu.au> NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.254.197 News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41