In the Reader Request Thread, Ian asks: I’d like to hear what you think we’ll learn (if anything!) when the LHC comes online next month. Well, that sort of depends on the time scale. I’m not a big accelerator guy, but my sense from reading the blogs of people who are is that we’re not… Continue reading Reader Request: LHC
Category: Physics
The New York Times on Glass
I tagged this for del.icio.us, but on reflection, it deserves better than to be buried in a links dump. It’s so rare that the New York Times notices physics that doesn’t cost billions of dollars, that Kenneth Chang’s article on glass deserves its own post. Peter G. Wolynes, a professor of chemistry at the University… Continue reading The New York Times on Glass
Reader Request: Graphene
Last week’s Reader Request Thread produced a bunch of good suggestions, some of which I’ll be responding to this week as I put the last touches on the book draft and send it off. We’ll start with a good physics question from Moshe: So, what do you think about graphene? the next big thing, or… Continue reading Reader Request: Graphene
A Force of Nature: The Frontier Genius of Ernest Rutherford by Richard Reeves
Richard Reeves is probably best known for writing biographies of American Presidents (Kennedy, Nixon, and Reagan), so it’s a little strange to see him turn his hand to scientific biography. This is part of Norton’s “Great Discoveries” series (which inexplicably lacks a web page– get with the 21st century, already), though, so incongruous author-subject pairing… Continue reading A Force of Nature: The Frontier Genius of Ernest Rutherford by Richard Reeves
Physics Magazine
On a happier note than the previous post, the American Physical Society has launched a new publication, called simply “Physics.” The goal is “to highlight exceptional papers within the body of excellent research that the American Physical Society publishes each year in all of the Physical Review journals.” The first issue features a really good… Continue reading Physics Magazine
Science Marches On (Magnetic Moments Edition)
I’m currently revising the book chapter based on the original “Bunnies Made of Cheese” post, which deals with virtual particles and Quantum Electro-Dynamics. The best proof of the power of QED is the measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron, where experiment and theory agree to something like thirteen decimal places. In double-checking… Continue reading Science Marches On (Magnetic Moments Edition)
Unworkable Devices
As a sort of palate-cleanser after the quantum chicanery discussed in the previous post, let me recommend Donald Simanek’s Museum of Unworkable Devices, a wonderful collection of failed ideas for perpetual motion machines, including explanations of why they don’t work. I’m tempted to turn a couple of these into exam questions, the next time I… Continue reading Unworkable Devices
Help Me Locate Kooks
The final chapter of Bunnies Made of Cheese: The Book is currently envisioned as a look at the misuse of quantum mechanics by evil squirrels: qucks and hucksters of various sorts. As a result, I spent a good chunk of yesterday wading through the sewers of alternative medicine books on Amazon, using the “Search Inside… Continue reading Help Me Locate Kooks
Science Blogs: What Are They Good For?
Over at Science After Sunclipse, Blake has a very long post about the limitations of science blogs. Brian at Laelaps responds, and Tom at Swans On Tea agrees. You might be wondering whether I have an opinion on this. Since I’m going to be talking about it at a workshop in September (first talk, no… Continue reading Science Blogs: What Are They Good For?
Academic Poll: Have You Seen This Before?
A few days ago, some colleagues and I were discussing the year that just ended, and the curriculum in general, and the frequent lament about needing to repeat ourselves came up. Due to some quirks of our calendar, we have a lot of students taking courses out of sequence, and as a result, have to… Continue reading Academic Poll: Have You Seen This Before?