As noted in the previous FutureBaby playlist post, I started doing this after hearing Don McLean’s “American Pie” on the radio while running errands the other day. Amusingly, you will note that that song is not present in this part of the list– that’s because I don’t have an electronic copy of it. Which I… Continue reading FutureBaby Playlist: C-G
Month: March 2008
Lab Visit Report: Biophysics
One of the many very cool things going on in the Laser Cooling Empire at NIST is a series of experiments using optical tweezers to study various biological systems. I used to share an office with the biochemist in the group, who was there to handle the wet chemistry that physicists are notoriously bad at.… Continue reading Lab Visit Report: Biophysics
Lorentz Contracted Asteroids
Via email, Reference Games, featuring two versions of the classic video game “Asteroids” (well, it’s a classic if you’re my age…). The cool wrinkle: light speed in the game is set to be very low, and you can toggle back and forth between the ship frame and the frame of the background stars, to see… Continue reading Lorentz Contracted Asteroids
Panda!
Here’s another picture Kate took at the National Zoo, showing one of their pandas (the male, I think, but I’m not sure) chowing down on a big branch of bamboo. As noted previously, they’re deeply improbable creatures, but really cute. Just don’t try to hug them.
links for 2008-03-12
Bad Baby Names – A Boy Named Sue, and a Theory of Names – John Tierney – New York Times “During his 1969 concert at San Quentin prison, Johnny Cash proposed a paradigm shift in the field of developmental psychology. “ (tags: kid-stuff psychology science society culture music) Gen Ed Reform — Supersized :: Inside… Continue reading links for 2008-03-12
FutureBaby Playlist: A-B
As Scalzi wrote some time back, “one of a parent’s more minor but nevertheless important responsibilities is to make sure his or children grow up with a love of music that doesn’t totally suck.” I was reminded of this the other day while driving around, when “American Pie” came on the radio. I have weirdly… Continue reading FutureBaby Playlist: A-B
Lab Visit Report: Cold Plasmas
Another of the labs I visited while in DC was Steve Rolston’s lab at the University of Maryland. This actually contains the apparatus I worked on as a graduate student, including many of the same quirky pieces of hardware– Steve was the PI (Principal Investigator) for the metastable xenon lab in the Phillips group at… Continue reading Lab Visit Report: Cold Plasmas
A User’s Guide to Vacuum Pumps Part 2: Quiet Pumps
In the previous post on this topic, I discussed the various types of noisy vacuum pumps, both clean and dirty varieties. This time out, we’ll deal with the quiet pumps, the ones that don’t deafen people working in the lab. Quiet and Dirty: The quintessential quiet and dirty pump is an oil diffusion pump. These… Continue reading A User’s Guide to Vacuum Pumps Part 2: Quiet Pumps
Physics Comes Marching In
The annual March Meeting of the American Physical Society is happening this week in New Orleans. This is the biggest physics conference of the year, by far, with close to 7,000 attendees– despite what you might think from the Internet, the Condensed Matter crowd who attend the March Meeting significantly outnumber particle physicists and high-energy… Continue reading Physics Comes Marching In
links for 2008-03-11
Southern Baptists Back a Shift on Climate Change – New York Times ‘[T]he new declaration, which will be released Monday, states, “Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed.”‘ (tags: politics religion science news environment) Jacks of Science â Top… Continue reading links for 2008-03-11