I’ve been a little bad about self-promoting here of late, but I should definitely plug this: I’m speaking at the TEDxAlbany event this Thursday, December 3rd; I’m scheduled first, at 9:40 am. The title is “The Exotic Physics of an Ordinary Morning“:
You might think that the bizarre predictions of quantum mechanics and relativity– particles that are also waves, cats that are both alive and dead, clocks that run at different rates depending on how you’re moving– and only come into play in physics laboratories or near black holes. In fact, though, even the strangest features of modern physics are essential for everything around us. The mundane process of getting up and getting ready for work relies on surprisingly exotic physics; understanding how this plays out adds an element of wonder to even the most ordinary morning.
(This is slightly inaccurate, as I was originally planning to get some relativity into this, but that ended up being awkward. So the final version is all quantum.)
I believe they’ve streamed the talks in past years, though I don’t have any information on that at the moment. They have video of all the past speakers, so I assume the same will be true this year; once it’s up, you can be sure I’ll point to it.
Anyway, that’s the Big Thing I’m stressing out about this week… If I get useful information on how to stream the video, I’ll share it; if you’re in the Albany area, and free that day, they may still have tickets if you want to check it out live…