The AIP’s Physics News Update this week highlights a paper on the laser cooling and trapping of radium by a group at Argonne National Laboratory. This is a new record for the heaviest atom ever cooled and trapped. It’s not quite as cool as the previous record, which involved the trapping of francium atoms that… Continue reading Trapping Radium
Author: Chad Orzel
Hugo Recommendations
As Kate and I are planning to attend the Worldcon this year, we’re eligible to nominate for the Hugo Awards, which are sort of SF’s version of the Oscars, or maybe the Golden Globes (the Nebula Awards being the other). This is only the third time I’ve had this opportunity, and it’s always kind of… Continue reading Hugo Recommendations
Quantum Gravity: Physics?
The post title is taken from the announcement for today’s colloquium talk. The abstract: Quantum gravity is the theory which is thought to underlie quantum theory and general relativity. I will introduce the subject, emphasizing recent results which suggest that spatial geometry is discrete. Such discrete geometry may have an observational signature, especially if it… Continue reading Quantum Gravity: Physics?
Boskone in Brief
Kate and I spent the weekend in Boston for the science fiction convention Boskone, which we’ve been going to every year for the past several years. I’m not going to do a detailed recap of everything that was said on every panel that I went to, mostly because I don’t keep notes. Also, that would… Continue reading Boskone in Brief
Boskone: Visiting Japan
The first panel I was on was travel advice for the Japanese Worldcon: Visiting Japan, If we attend the Worldcon in Yokohama this August, what knowledge should we bring along? What ten phrases are essential? What societal differences should we be prepared to accommodate? What are Japanese SF fans like? What will we eat? How… Continue reading Boskone: Visiting Japan
Journal of “Well, Duh!”
This one came across the RSS feeds last week, when I was getting ready to leave town and didn’t have time to post, but I really can’t let this slide by without comment. The EurekAlert headling really says it all: Sleep disturbances affect classroom performance: As a night of bad sleep can have an adverse… Continue reading Journal of “Well, Duh!”
Officially Official
In my campus mailbox this morning: Dear Chad: I am pleased to report that on Februrary 10, 2007 the Board of Trustees approved our recommendation that you be tenured effective September 1, 2007 at the rank of Associate Professor. Woo-hoo! It took about half a second to decide to sign the copy indicating my acceptance,… Continue reading Officially Official
Thought Experiments Made Real
We’re back from Boskone, which included lots of fun stuff, and not enough sleep. I also cleverly forgot to bring my lecture notes home from work, which means I need to go in early to figure out what the hell I’m talking about in class today, so there’s not much time for blogging at the… Continue reading Thought Experiments Made Real
A Message from the Queen
You may think it’s the year of the pig, but know this: Every year is the Year of the Dog.
Daniel Keys Moran
Over in LiveJournal land, Kate has an open letter to Daniel Keys Moran: As someone who very nearly cries at the idea of a completed Trent novel languishing on your hard drive, may I introduce you to Lulu or Cafe Press? Both will print books from uploaded files, as they are ordered, for the price… Continue reading Daniel Keys Moran