Sunday, 8 April 2018

terminology - Difference between symmetry and invariance


I'm wondering what's the real difference between symmetry and invariance in Physics? I believe that sometimes the two words are given the same meaning and some other times they are used in a different way.
To me a symmetry is more of a physical property: if you rotate the experiment-table and you get the same results, the system is symmetric with respect to rotations.


While invariance is a mathematical concept, like a gauge transformation.



Is it right to think about it this way? Any insights?




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