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words, words, words
Jul. 14th, 2008 04:53 pmI tend to think that I have a pretty good command of the English language, but there are lots of
phrases that snag me. Often it's just that I go for the weird alternate meaning first, missing the obvious one, but sometimes it's probably related to my spatial orientation problems. Case in point: "The electric field must, therefore, always point in the direction in which the electric potential has its maximum decrease." This is something I absolutely have to understand, and I keep coming up with different explanations - does it mean towards where the potential is the smallest? Using the ever-present topographical map analogy, are we talking about down a steep hill?
phrases that snag me. Often it's just that I go for the weird alternate meaning first, missing the obvious one, but sometimes it's probably related to my spatial orientation problems. Case in point: "The electric field must, therefore, always point in the direction in which the electric potential has its maximum decrease." This is something I absolutely have to understand, and I keep coming up with different explanations - does it mean towards where the potential is the smallest? Using the ever-present topographical map analogy, are we talking about down a steep hill?
