SteelyKid is a big fan of the classic children’s book Goodnight Moon, which, if you haven’t spent the last sixty-odd years in a cave, you probably know features a bunny saying goodnight to a variety of objects in a great, green room. The attentive toddler will find a lot to look at in the pictures–… Continue reading The Astrophysics of Bedtime Stories
Category: Physics
The Physics Bus
SteelyKid, like most toddlers, knows a few songs, and likes to sing them over and over. Her repertoire is limited to “ABCDEFG” (the alphabet song, but that’s how she requests it), “Twinkle, Twinkle,” “Some man” (“This Old Man,” which I only figured out this weekend), and “Round and Round” (“The Wheels on the Bus”). I… Continue reading The Physics Bus
Physics Is Not a Mad Lib
Via Tom, a site giving problem-solving advice for physics. While the general advice is good, and the friendly, Don’t-Panic tone is great, I do have a problem with one of their steps, Step 7: Consider Your Formulas: Some professors will require that you memorize relevant formulas, while others will give you a “cheat sheet.” Either… Continue reading Physics Is Not a Mad Lib
Know Your Prefixes, Baseball Edition
On the way to get SteelyKid from day care last night, I flipped on ESPN radio in the vain hope of getting a baseball score, but wound up listening to former Mets manager and freelance jackass Bobby Valentine talking about how difficult batting is, which included the statement: And the whole thing is over in… Continue reading Know Your Prefixes, Baseball Edition
Who Is the Velvet Underground of Science?
I’m shamelessly stealing this question from James Nicoll, who asked it about science fiction. The question is a play on the famous comment that only of order a thousand people bought the first Velvet Underground record, but every one of them went on to start a band. So, the question is, who is the Velvet… Continue reading Who Is the Velvet Underground of Science?
How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your UK Dog
Between travel and general work craziness, I completely forgot to note that the UK version of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog has gone on sale: The title for this edition is How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog, and the vanity search keeps turning up mentions to it in the Guardian Bookshop,… Continue reading How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your UK Dog
Congratulations to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov
The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Geim and Novoselov for their work on graphene, a material consisting of one-atom-thick sheets of carbon atoms in a hexagonal array. This is one of those prizes that was basically inevitable, as graphene is one of the hot materials of the last couple of years. Hardly a… Continue reading Congratulations to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov
What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics
A quick check-in from Tuscaloosa, where we’re getting ready to head out for the football tailgating. While I’ve got a minute, though, here are the slides from my public lecture, via SlideShare: What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics View more presentations from Chad Orzel. These are probably less comprehensible that some of my… Continue reading What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog in the South
I am in Alabama at the moment, the temporary owner of a ginormous Ford SUV and a hotel room that even I think is a little more air-conditioned than strictly necessary. Which means that it’s time for the How to Teach Physics to Your Dog mini-tour of the Southland. On Wednesday, I’ll be driving to… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog in the South
Nobel Prize Betting Pool
It’s that time of year again– the Swedes will be handing out money to famous scientists, with the announcements of who’s getting what starting one week from today. Thus, the traditional Uncertain Principles Nobel Prize Picking Contest: Leave a comment on this post predicting the winner(s) of one of this year’s Nobel Prizes. Anyone who… Continue reading Nobel Prize Betting Pool