I’m deep in book revisions at the moment, which largely accounts for the relative blog silence. This is expected to continue for a while yet, broken by the occasional post when something comes up that is irritating enough to push me to write about it. Such as, well, now. In the chapter on the Copenhagen… Continue reading Biographers (and Physicists) Are Pigs
Category: Physics
Fun With Thermal Resistance
In the last few weeks, I’ve been wrapping up E&M, which has included talking about Faraday’s Law and induced currents. I did the traditional demonstration using a PASCO ring launcher to demonstrate Lenz’s Law, showing that the induced current flows in a direction that creates a field opposing the change in magnetic flux. The ring… Continue reading Fun With Thermal Resistance
Calendrical Mismatch
I’m giving the last lecture of new material in my intro E&M class today, on Maxwell’s equations and electromagnetic waves. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been struck again by the way our trimester system (three ten-week terms, instead of two 15-week semesters) is a lousy match for the standard curricula. Or even new… Continue reading Calendrical Mismatch
Our Long National Nightmare is Over
I’ve written my last lecture for the first-year E&M class, and will be giving it at 10:30 this morning. (Friday’s class will be given over to exam review). The spring term, which had felt like it would stretch into July, is basically over. Oh, and some guy won an election.
Science Festivals, Science Books, and Science Funding
The World Science Festival happened while I was at DAMOP (I missed getting to talk to Bill Phillips, because he left shortly after his talk to go to NYC), and by all reports it was a success– they claim 120,000 attendees on their web site, and sold more tickets than expected for several events, and… Continue reading Science Festivals, Science Books, and Science Funding
DAMOP Day 2
I spent a whole bunch of time running around between talks on Thursday, and at one point was grumbling to myself about the way the organizers had scheduled all the good stuff at one time. Only later did I realize that it really wasn’t their fault– it’s all good stuff, and there are only a… Continue reading DAMOP Day 2
DAMOP Day 1
A very quick run-down of physics topics at DAMOP, before I go to bed: I skipped the prize session at 8am, so I started my day with Bill Phillips’s talk in the recent developments in optical lattices session. Oddly, his talk really didn’t have much to do with lattices, but it’s always a pleasure to… Continue reading DAMOP Day 1
DAMOP Day 0
I made it to Happy Valley without incident, though it is Orange Cone Season in Pennsylvania, and I spent a lot of time dodging construction. Happily, there really wasn’t anything important at the meeting last night. So I skipped out on the welcome reception to have dinner and a few beers with Kevin and RPM… Continue reading DAMOP Day 0
Nerd Famous
Most of my reaction to this weekend’s Emily Gould article in the Times was “Gosh, who knew that writing for Gawker might have a corrosive effect on your personal life…,” but there were some interesting bits. She did a nice job explaining how blogging can be sort of addictive, and also had some good bits… Continue reading Nerd Famous
Built On Facts
Every now and then, I look at the huge list of blogs and news sources in my RSS feeds, and say to myself “You really need to thin these out…” How can I make any progress, though, when there are always great new blogs being created? The latest new blog to ctach my interest and… Continue reading Built On Facts