A fairly straightforward question: quantum physicists divide the world into two categories of things, fermions and bosons. What’s your favorite object having integer spin? What’s your favorite boson?online survey Superpositions of answers, while allowed in properly symmetrized wavefunctions, are not valid responses to this poll.
Author: Chad Orzel
Packaging Technology… of the Future!
I needed a band-aid this morning, and when I was getting it out, it occurred to me that there are some subtle details of packaging technology that pretty clearly mark this as the future, not the past. I’m not sure when the transition was, but if you’re around my age or older, you can probably… Continue reading Packaging Technology… of the Future!
She’s a Big Girl Now
SteelyKid returns today from her weekend at Grandma and Grandpa’s, and there’s going to be a surprise waiting for her: She hadn’t exactly outgrown her crib yet, but she was getting kind of big for it, so we decided to move her to a big girl bed. It’s a “captain’s bed” with drawers underneath the… Continue reading She’s a Big Girl Now
Are You Ready for Some Football?
Well? Are you? Are you ready for some football?survey software
Short Story Club: “A Serpent in the Gears” by Margaret Ronald
I do intend to keep reading and commenting on the stories for Torque Control’s Short Story Club, but I missed last week’s because I couldn’t really think of anything to say about it. The story was nicely written, and all, but it’s just kind of… there. This week’s post was delayed by my annual day… Continue reading Short Story Club: “A Serpent in the Gears” by Margaret Ronald
Links for 2010-09-12
R.W. Wood’s lecture demonstrations (1897-1905) | Skulls in the Stars In the early years of the 20th century, however, the most important physics journals published in English were the Philosophical Magazine and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Truly important results would appear in those journals first, and Physical Review was a second or… Continue reading Links for 2010-09-12
September 11, 2010
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oy.
A News of the Stupid story that’s too good to pass up. I mean, how can you not click on a headline like “Men Accused of Wrestling Python Outside McDonald’s”: MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two men were arrested after bewildered diners at a McDonald’s spotted them wrestling a 5-foot (1.5 meter) python named Boris in… Continue reading Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oy.
Academic Etiquette Poll: Office Hours
A simple one, that I’m sure all the faculty in the audience will recognize. What is the proper approach to meeting with a professor outside of class: You email a professor asking to meet, and he responds “My office hours are from X:00-Y:00, or I’m free at Z:00.” You:online survey Even if we’re talking about… Continue reading Academic Etiquette Poll: Office Hours
Relativity, Quantum, and the Internet
When Kate and I were walking Emmy last night, we were talking about the historical development of relativity. As one does, when walking the dog. I mentioned a couple of the pre-1905 attempts to explain things like the Michelson-Morley experiment, and how people like Lorentz and FitzGerald and Poincare were on the right track, but… Continue reading Relativity, Quantum, and the Internet