{"id":248,"date":"2016-01-07T17:03:09","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T17:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ferzkopp.net\/wordpress\/?p=248"},"modified":"2016-01-08T07:44:29","modified_gmt":"2016-01-08T15:44:29","slug":"noethers-theorem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ferzkopp.net\/wordpress\/2016\/01\/07\/noethers-theorem\/","title":{"rendered":"Noether’s Theorem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Noether’s Theorem is a central result in theoretical physics<\/b> that expresses the one-to-one correspondence<\/b> between symmetries <\/b>and the conservation laws<\/b>.<\/p>\n

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My daughter wrote about Emmy Noether<\/a> and her impact on mathematics and physics for a school project. as we found out together, the theorem is kind of hard to explain. Here is my attempt to break down the above statements into some key parts and describe them seperately. Maybe this is of help to others!<\/p>\n

How does a Physisist use this theorem?<\/h5>\n

One can use<\/b> the theorem in two ways:<\/p>\n

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  1. If on observes some kind of symmetry (i.e. in location), there must be a conservation law (i.e. conservation of linear momentum).<\/li>\n
  2. If one observes some kind of conservation law (i.e. conservation of energy), there must be a symmetry (i.e. time independence).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    So why do we care?<\/h5>\n

    Noether’s theorem is an amazing result<\/b> which lets physicists get conserved quantities from symmetries of the laws of nature, i.e. it is a tool<\/em> for physicists:<\/b> it makes new discoveries and progress in Physics possible just like Galileo\u2019s telescope made it possible to observe Mars, or Einstein\u2019s theory of relativity made it possible to build an A-bomb.<\/p>\n

    What is theoretical physics?<\/h5>\n

    That is easy to explain by contrasting the activities of theoritical physics with\u00a0 the ones done in experimental physics.<\/p>\n

    Experimental Physics:<\/u> example the LHC<\/p>\n