Emmy Noether Sticker
Symmetry In. Conservation Out. | Physics
Symmetry in, conservation out: one of the deepest results in physics. Emmy Noether’s 1918 theorem: every continuous symmetry of physical law gives a conserved quantity, like energy or momentum. A pixel-art portrait on a 3" × 3" sticker; the physics panel below has the equation, every symbol and the sources.
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Details
Size3″ × 3″
3″ × 3″ kiss-cut sticker.
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The physics
Noether's theorem says that every continuous symmetry of a system's laws comes with a conserved quantity. Symmetry under shifts in time gives conservation of energy, shifts in space give momentum, and rotations give angular momentum.
Equations
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| \(Q\) | conserved Noether charge (momentum for a shift, angular momentum for a rotation) | \(\mathrm{kg·m/s, J·s}\) |
| \(L\) | Lagrangian | \(\mathrm{J}\) |
| \(q_i\) | generalised coordinates (lengths or angles) | \(\mathrm{m, rad}\) |
| \(\dot q_i\) | generalised velocities | \(\mathrm{m/s, rad/s}\) |
| \(\epsilon\) | small symmetry parameter (a length for a shift, an angle for a rotation, a time for a clock shift) | \(\mathrm{m, rad, s}\) |
| \(\delta q_i\) | direction of the symmetry shift (its size is carried by ε) | \(\mathrm{1}\) |
| \(\delta L\) | change in the Lagrangian under the shift | \(\mathrm{J}\) |
| \(t\) | time | \(\mathrm{s}\) |
| \(E\) | energy | \(\mathrm{J}\) |
| \(\vec x\) | position | \(\mathrm{m}\) |
| \(\vec p\) | linear momentum | \(\mathrm{kg·m/s}\) |
| \(\theta\) | rotation angle | \(\mathrm{rad}\) |
| \(\vec L\) | angular momentum | \(\mathrm{J·s}\) |
Sources
- Noether (1918) Invariante Variationsprobleme, Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Göttingen 235–257; English translation by M. A. Tavel (opens in a new tab)
- MacTutor — Emmy Noether biography (habilitation refused until 1919; courses listed under Hilbert's name) (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Noether's theorem (opens in a new tab)
Source Noether, E. (1918). Invariante Variationsprobleme. Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse, 235–257.