Newton's identities let two different summaries of the same polynomial roots talk to each other. Elementary symmetric polynomials record products of distinct root positions; power sums record sums of individual powers, $p_r={\sum }_{i=1}^n{x}_i^r$. Either can be easier to obtain in a particular problem. The identities turn one into the other, often avoiding any need to find the individual polynomial roots.

Write $e_0=1$ and $e_m=0$ for $m>n$. For every positive integer $m$, the identity isIt is a polynomial identity over the integers, so it remains true on substitution in any commutative ring. To solve it for $e_m$ by division, however, $m$ must have a multiplicative inverse. Over a field of characteristic zero, the first $n$ power sums recover every elementary symmetric polynomial. The same recovery works when the positive characteristic of a field is greater than $n$; small characteristic needs care.^[ref]

The first three relations are $e_1=p_1$, $2e_2=e_1{p}_1-p_2$, and $3e_3=e_2{p}_1-e_1{p}_2+p_3$. When division by two and three is permitted, this becomesFor the three roots $1,2,3$, their power sums are $p_1=6$, $p_2=14$, and $p_3=36$. The formulas give $e_2=(36-14)/2=11$ and $e_3=(216-252+72)/6=6$, recovering the polynomial $z^3-6z^2+11z-6$ from aggregate data.

The beauty is that the summaries do not depend on the order of the polynomial roots. In symmetric polynomials, one can work with quantities that survive every relabeling; in linear algebra, traces of matrix powers give the same kind of aggregate information about eigenvalues. The identities convert those summaries into coefficients of a characteristic polynomial.

A short derivation packages the identities into a formal power series. Let $E(t)={\prod }_i(1+x_{i}t)={\sum }_{m\ge 0}{e}_m{t}^m$. Since its constant coefficient is one, it has an inverse as a formal power series, and its formal derivative satisfiesMultiply by $E(t)$ and compare the coefficient of $t^{m-1}$. This gives Newton's identities without a convergence assumption or division by $m$. The division issue arises only when using them to recover $e_m$. The logarithmic-derivative approach is also developed in Newton's Identities (January 2019 notes) by Milan Mossé (§4, pp. 6–8).

The alternate name Newton-Girard identities recalls Albert Girard's earlier work. A modern historical account credits formulas through sixth powers to Albert Girard in 1629 and discusses their later appearance in Isaac Newton's Arithmetica universalis.^[ref] This citation refers to that account; the original historical editions have not been inspected here.

Molecularity counts the reacting entities in one elementary reaction: one for a unimolecular step, two for a bimolecular step. An entity can be a molecule, ion, or chemical atom. Solvent entities involved only through solvation are excluded. Molecularity describes a microscopic event; order of reaction describes the concentration dependence of a rate law. Assigning molecularity to a net multi-step chemical equation is therefore inappropriate.^[ref]

In ZFC there is no nonidentity elementary embedding $j:V\to V$, understood as an ordinary class embedding whose set restrictions and critical sequence are available. Let $\lambda$ be the supremum of the Kunen critical sequence, so $j(\lambda )=\lambda$ and $j({\lambda }^{+})={\lambda }^{+}$. Partition the ordinals of cofinality $\omega$ below ${\lambda }^{+}$ into stationary sets indexed by the critical point. After applying $j$, the extra stationary cell at that critical point meets the club of ordinals closed under $j$. Such an ordinal of countable cofinality is fixed by $j$ and hence belongs both to that extra cell and an old-index cell, a contradiction.

Preservation of all first-order formulas with parameters by an embedding. For an inclusion of structures this is the condition for an elementary substructure.

The oil drop experiment infers an oil drop's electric charge from its motion under gravity, buoyancy, drag and a calibrated electric field. Repeated changes of a single drop's electric charge reveal discrete steps; see the model, experimental procedure and limitations in elementary charge.

With the plus-sign convention $D_{\mu }={\partial }_{\mu }+ig{T}_3{W}_{\mu }^3+i{g}^{\prime }Y{B}_{\mu }$, let $\tan {\theta }_W=g^{\prime }/g$ and $A_{\mu }=\sin {\theta }_W{W}_{\mu }^3+\cos {\theta }_W{B}_{\mu }$. The coefficient of $A_{\mu }$ is $g\sin {\theta }_W{T}_3+g^{\prime }\cos {\theta }_{W}Y=e(T_3+Y)$, where $e=g\sin {\theta }_W=g^{\prime }\cos {\theta }_W$. The extra minus sign in the interaction Lagrangian comes from the $i$ in $\bar{\psi }i{\gamma }^{\mu }{D}_{\mu }\psi$. It reproduces the electric charges of every component of an Standard Model representation.

A solid sphere of radius $R$ and uniform charge density has total electric charge $Q$. Gauss law gives the radial electric field $E_r=Qr/(4\pi {ϵ}_0{R}^3)$ inside and $E_r=Q/(4\pi {ϵ}_0{r}^2)$ outside. The electric potential vanishing at infinity is $Q(3-r^2/R^2)/(8\pi {ϵ}_{0}R)$ inside and $Q/(4\pi {ϵ}_{0}r)$ outside. Integrating the electrostatic energy density ${ϵ}_0{E}^2/2$ over both regions gives $U=3Q^2/(20\pi {ϵ}_{0}R)$. In a fixed-density family with $Q\propto Z$ and $R^3\propto Z$, the electrostatic energy scales as $Z^{5/3}$.

In the parallel-plate approximation, a central plate at potential $V$ between grounded plates at $z=\pm H$ forms two parallel capacitors of gaps $H+a$ and $H-a$. Summing their field energies gives the displayed formula. At fixed voltage it is minimized at $a=0$. Finite circular plates have fringe fields; the uniform-gap expression assumes those edge corrections are neglected.

The initially empty energy band above the band gap in the simple semiconductor description. Excited electrons in it can carry electric current; they can also bind to valence band electron holes as excitons.

In the simple semiconductor description, the highest occupied energy band of the unexcited crystal at zero temperature. A missing occupant is an electron hole.

An electron filling an electron hole removes both excitations relative to the filled-band background. Their electric charges cancel, consistent with charge conservation; the remaining electrons are still present. The released energy can leave through photon emission or other channels, including phonons. Formation of an exciton instead retains the excited electron and electron hole as a bound pair; recombination removes the pair. A valence band electron filling a nearby vacancy merely moves the electron hole and does not remove the total vacancy count.

Photodetachment removes an electron from an anion using a photon. For chlorine, the reaction is ${\mathrm{Cl}}^{-}(g)+\gamma ⟶\mathrm{Cl}(g)+e^{-}$. Measuring the minimum photon energy for the specified final quantum state gives a photodetachment threshold and hence an electron affinity.

An electron attachment enthalpy is the signed molar enthalpy change for a stated attachment reaction,For favourable attachment such as chlorine's first attachment, the electron attachment enthalpy is negative. Its leading isolated-ground-state energy contribution is $-N_{\mathrm{A}}{A}_{\mathrm{ea}}$, where $N_{\mathrm{A}}$ is the Avogadro constant. At finite temperature, consistent thermal populations, translational contributions and the $pV$ term in enthalpy must also be included, together with the same gaseous-electron reference used in the corresponding ionization energy term. Consequently a measured spectroscopic electron affinity is not automatically an exact $298.15\mathrm{K}$ attachment enthalpy with a minus sign. A Born-Haber cycle must use compatible enthalpies throughout.

For an aperture normal to ${\mathbf{e}}_x$, let $F_y,F_z$ be its tangential electric field traces extended by zero outside the aperture. With the outgoing branch of $\kappa$, the Weyl plane-wave representation and the curl aperture integral give a spectrum proportional to $(-(\nu {\hat{F}}_y+\eta {\hat{F}}_z)/\kappa ,{\hat{F}}_y,{\hat{F}}_z)$. Each wave is transverse to $\mathbf{q}$. The longitudinal electric component is regenerated by oblique diffraction even when it vanishes at the input. For $G=e^{ikr}/(4\pi r)$ and a unit prefactor on the stated curl integral, the spectrum has an overall factor $1/2$; a doubled half-space Green kernel gives factor one. The normalization must follow the chosen Green kernel and equivalent-current convention.

For dependence $e^{i(kz-\omega t)}$, a Helmholtz equation $({\Delta }_{\perp }+{\gamma }^2)\psi =0$ generates transverse-magnetic fields $e_{\perp }={\nabla }_{\perp }\psi$, $e_z=-i{\gamma }^2\psi /k$, $b_{\perp }=\omega \hat{z}\times {\nabla }_{\perp }\psi /(k{c}^2)$, $b_z=0$, for $k\ne 0$. The conducting wall requires a Dirichlet boundary condition on $\psi$. A transverse-electric representation is $e_{\perp }=\hat{z}\times {\nabla }_{\perp }\psi$, $e_z=0$, $b_{\perp }=-k{\nabla }_{\perp }\psi /\omega$, $b_z=i{\gamma }^2\psi /\omega$, with a Neumann boundary condition. These are families of modes, not a completeness assertion for multiply connected guides and their possible TEM fields.

The Lorenz gauge condition isor ${\partial }_{\mu }{A}^{\mu }=0$ in covariant notation.

A retarded potential evaluates each source at the event on the source's past light cone. This accounts for propagation at the speed of light and enforces causality.

A cryogenic radiometer uses low-temperature operation to improve electrical substitution radiometry through particular material and thermal properties. Lower heat capacity of a copper receiver permits a substantial cavity without proportionately slow relaxation; cold shields reduce unwanted thermal radiation, and heater leads with superconductivity can suppress resistive lead heating. These features do not make radiometric absorptance exactly one or abolish optical-electrical heating non-equivalence.^[ref]

Cold surroundings matter as much as a cold receiver. In a simplified gray-surface model, net outward thermal radiation is $ϵ\sigma A(T^4-T_s^4)$, using emissivity $ϵ$, area $A$, shield temperature $T_s$ and the Stefan-Boltzmann constant $\sigma$. Cold shields reduce the incoming term as well as the receiver's emission; cooling the receiver alone while leaving it exposed to warm surroundings does not remove incoming radiation. An entrance window still provides an optical and thermal path. Vacuum reduces gas-mediated heat transfer, while an intentional radiometer thermal link remains necessary. This model explains specific losses, rather than promising a universal improvement factor or perfect accuracy.

Electrical reactance $X$ is the signed imaginary part of electrical impedance $Z=R+\mathrm{i}X$, measured in ohms. It describes the part of the terminal electric potential difference in phase quadrature with the electric current in a sinusoidal steady state. In the $e^{\mathrm{i}\omega t}$ convention, an ideal inductor has $X_L=\omega L>0$ and an ideal capacitor has $X_C=-1/(\omega C)<0$ for $\omega >0$. A large $|X|$ reduces electric current at fixed applied voltage, but an ideal purely reactive component returns the energy it receives over each cycle. This is why electrical reactance and electrical resistance have the same units yet describe different physical behavior. ^[ref].

In a series RLC circuit, electrical impedances add because the same electric current passes through every component. For ideal positive inductance $L$, capacitance $C$, and total electrical resistance $R_{\Sigma }>0$,Here $\varphi$ is voltage wave phase minus current wave phase. Below ${\omega }_0=1/\sqrt{LC}$, $X<0$ and electric current leads terminal voltage; above it, $X>0$ and electric current lags. At ${\omega }_0$, the two signed electrical reactances cancel, leaving $Z=R_{\Sigma }$ and the maximum electric current at fixed terminal voltage. This is the resonant series RLC response. Electrical resistance does not cancel: the toy circuit gives $f_0={\omega }_0/(2\pi )=1591.55\mathrm{Hz}$ and $I_{\mathrm{rms}}=9.091\mathrm{mA}$ there. These numbers follow directly from the stipulated component values. ^[ref].

Cancellation concerns terminal voltage, not the disappearance of stored energy. In the toy circuit at resonance, the individual inductor and capacitor voltages are each $0.9091\mathrm{V}$ in root mean square magnitude, with opposite wave phases, while their sum is zero. Their peak stored magnetic energy and capacitor energy are each $0.8264\mu \mathrm{J}$, attained at different times. With smaller positive $R_{\Sigma }$, either component voltage can exceed the applied voltage. This ability to select a frequency while sustaining internal energy exchange connects electrical reactance to tuning and frequency response.

For an ideal inductor or capacitor, the absorbed instantaneous power equals the rate of change of stored energy:Positive power stores energy; negative power returns it. Over a periodic steady state, each stored energy returns to its initial value, so its cycle-averaged absorbed power is zero. An ideal resistor instead has $p_R=R{i}^2\ge 0$, transferring energy into Joule heating. More generally, the average terminal power of this series RLC circuit isZero average power in an ideal reactive component does not imply zero instantaneous power, zero electric current, or zero stored energy. Real coils and capacitors have losses, so zero ideal reactive loss is a model assumption rather than a claim about every component. ^[ref].

For two electrostatic potentials satisfying the Poisson equation $\Delta {\varphi }_i=-{\rho }_i/{\epsilon }_0$, Green's second identity yields the displayed reciprocity formula. The product rule for divergence applied to ${\varphi }_1\nabla {\varphi }_2-{\varphi }_2\nabla {\varphi }_1$ cancels the cross-gradient terms. The normal points outward from the integration region; for an exterior region this means inward toward the excluded object on its inner boundary. Boundary terms may be removed only under suitable decay or boundary conditions.