Martin Perl, a 1995 Nobel laureate in Physics for the discovery of the tau lepton, was awarded an honorary degree yesterday at commencement. Perl actually has a significant Union connection– he started his career as a chemical engineer, and was working for GE making vacuum tubes when they sent him to take classes in calculus… Continue reading Dinner with Martin Perl
Category: Experiment
Meetings From Hell: Round Wire or Square Wire?
Tom at Swans On Tea comments on an article about meetings: The most common meeting in my experience is the status meeting, where everyone gets together and reports on what they’ve accomplished. If it’s a small group, these are usually fine because you already have familiarity with the tasks. But when you get a large… Continue reading Meetings From Hell: Round Wire or Square Wire?
Quantum Switching of Light
Physics World posted a somewhat puzzling story a few days back, headlined Ultra cold atoms help share quantum information: Scientists in the US have demonstrated a novel “light-switch” in an optical fibre that could become a new tool in the communications industry. The device created by Michal Bajcsy at Harvard University and colleagues could be… Continue reading Quantum Switching of Light
Congratulations to Serge Haroche
Physics World reports on the awarding of a major French prize in science: A physicist has been awarded France’s top science prize for his work on atomic physics and quantum optics. Serge Haroche — one of the founding fathers of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) — was presented with this year’s “gold medal” by the French… Continue reading Congratulations to Serge Haroche
DAMOP Day One
Technically, the meeting started Tuesday, but all that happened was a welcome reception, which I missed due to travel. The real beginning of the meeting was Wednesday morning, with the traditional unscheduled half-hour welcome from local dignitaries. That was followed by the Prize Session, featuring the frighteningly smart Misha Lukin, who was awarded the I.I.… Continue reading DAMOP Day One
We Just Turned the Machine Off, and the Antimatter Went Away
I’m a little surprised that I haven’t seen bloggers commenting on Tom Hanks’s appearance on The Daily Show, in which he talks about CERN: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M – Th 11p / 10c Tom Hanks thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor Everything he says is pretty much true, but… Continue reading We Just Turned the Machine Off, and the Antimatter Went Away
Dorkiest Family Vacation Ever
Via Michael Nielsen, a page documenting what I really hope is the dorkiest family vacation ever: Project GREAT: General Relativity Einstein/Essen Anniversary Test Clocks, Kids, and General Relativity on Mt Rainier: In September 2005 (for the 50th anniversary of the atomic clock and 100th anniversary of the theory of relativity) we took several cesium clocks… Continue reading Dorkiest Family Vacation Ever
Fairy-Tale Physics 2: Spinning Gold
You might think that Monday’s discourse on thermodynamics in the Goldilocks story was the only children’s story in which physics plays a role, but that’s not true. Physics is everywhere in fairy tales. Take, for example, the story of Rumpelstiltskin, in which a mysterious little man demands a terrible price for helping a miller’s daughter… Continue reading Fairy-Tale Physics 2: Spinning Gold
Quantum Computing in Diamond, on the Arxiv Blog
As I understand it, the Physics ArXiv Blog is not affiliated with the people who actually run the Arxiv (Paul Ginsparg et al.). Which is probably good, as I’m never entirely sure how seriously to take the papers they highlight. Take yesterday’s post, Diamond Challenges for Quantum-Computing Crown, which is about a paper that asks… Continue reading Quantum Computing in Diamond, on the Arxiv Blog
The Faulty Thermodynamics of Children’s Stories
SteelyKid is not yet at the stage where I can usefully read to her– she likes sitting on my lap while I read just fine, but she’s more interested in trying to eat the pages than listening to the story. I was reminded this morning, though, that when she gets to bedtime-story age, I’m going… Continue reading The Faulty Thermodynamics of Children’s Stories