I am crushingly busy right now– massive book rewrites needed, papers to grade, etc.– so I’ve actually been fairly happy with the general lack of topics that inspire a deep desire to blog. which of course, was promptly upset this morning, when a brief outburst of hating on Carl Sagan erupted on Twitter just as… Continue reading The Sagan Thing
Month: November 2013
Interference with 10,000-Particle “Particles”: “Matter-wave interference with particles selected from a molecular library with masses exceeding 10000 amu”
I’m teaching Quantum Optics this term, and one of my students picked “Atom Optics” off the list of suggested paper topics. When he asked for pointers, I said “You should check out the diffraction stuff Markus Arndt’s group does.” And just like that, a paper from the Arndt group turns up from the Arxiv Blog…… Continue reading Interference with 10,000-Particle “Particles”: “Matter-wave interference with particles selected from a molecular library with masses exceeding 10000 amu”
Official Portrait Blogging 2013-14
Because I know there are still a few people who come here for the cute-kid pictures, I give you the official SteelyKid portrait for the 2013-14 academic year. This is actually a photo of a photo, because that’s the easiest way to convert the print they sent us to a digital format, and also because… Continue reading Official Portrait Blogging 2013-14
Happy Pip-Day!
Two years ago, as of 4:35 this morning, The Pip was born. And now he’s a great big toddler, obsessed with pirates and dinosaurs, running everywhere and talking a LOT… He’s had a bit of a rough week, with another flare-up of conjunctivitis in his right eye, requiring eye ointment and antibiotics, the less said… Continue reading Happy Pip-Day!
Old Thesis Club: Experiments on Gravitation by Earle Milton Bigsbee, 1932
One of the interesting things about the pile of old theses we found in the basement is the opportunity to look at things that nobody believes any more. Past installments of the Old Thesis Club have shown people fumbling toward an understanding of quantum physics via electron scattering and spectroscopy, but in both of those… Continue reading Old Thesis Club: Experiments on Gravitation by Earle Milton Bigsbee, 1932
The Ultimate Alien Message
In January of 1990, a friend and I designed the ultimate message to an alien civilization. Okay, admittedly, this wan’t a recognized scientific accomplishment. After all, in January of 1990, I was a freshman at Williams. The alien message we designed was part of a first-year Winter Study seminar class. Winter Study, for those not… Continue reading The Ultimate Alien Message
Drums in the Deep… They Are Coming
October was a very heavy month, blog-wise, and I had planned to continue that labor. In working the word mines, though, I seem to have delved too deep, and unleashed a horde. And they have Halloween candy… I’ll try to fight my way clear by Monday, but not too hard, because, really, look at them.… Continue reading Drums in the Deep… They Are Coming