A few lines of dialogue that I wrote today: “So, the treats I eat represent the matter falling into the black hole, while my poop–“ “You are not coming to my class and pooping to demonstrate Hawking radiation. Don’t even think about it.” “I guess that means you don’t want to hear my take on […]
Category: Relativity
Quantum Mechanics vs. Relativity: It Depends on What “Understand” Means
Sean Carroll and Brad DeLong have each recently asserted that relativity is easier to understand than quantum mechanics. Both quote Feynman saying that nobody understands quantum mechanics, but Sean gives more detail: “Hardness” is not a property that inheres in a theory itself; it’s a statement about the relationship between the theory and the human […]
Energy from Mass, Mass from Energy
I probably ought to get a start on the big pile of grading I have waiting for me, but I just finished a draft of the problematic Chapter 7, on E=mc2, so I’m going to celebrate a little by blogging about that. One thing that caught my eye in the not-entirely-successful chapter on momentum and […]
It’s About Time by David Mermin
Subtitled “Understanding Einstein’s Relativity,” David Mermin’s It’s About Time is another book (like An Illustrated Guide to Relativity) that grew out of a non-majors course on physics that Mermin offers at Cornell. It’s also an almost-forty-years-later update of an earlier book he wrote on the same subject. And it’s been a really good resource for […]
An Illustrated Guide to Relativity by Tatsu Takeuchi
I’m always a little hesitant to post reviews of books that I’m using as reference sources when I’m writing something, because it feels a little like recommending that you skip past my book and go to my sources instead. This is, of course, completely irrational, because however much I my use a given book as […]
Possibly Stupid Question: Why All These Extra Particles?
I’ve reached a point in the book-in-progress where I find myself needing to talk a little about particle physics. As this is very much not my field, this quickly led to a situation where the dog asked a question I can’t answer. But, hey, that’s why I have a blog with lots of smart readers… […]
Spooky Action at High Speed
I’m currently working on a book about relativity, but I still spend a fair amount of time thinking about quantum issues. A lot of this won’t make it into the book, because I can’t assume people will have read How to Teach Physics to Your Dog before reading whatever the relativity book’s title ends up […]
Dorky Poll: Gratitude
It’s Thanksgiving here in the US, so blogging will be light to nonexistent. For the sake of those looking for a quick escape from the chaos of a family gathering, or, you know, those poor benighted souls in other countries for whom this is just another Thursday, here’s a thematically appropriate poll about science: What […]
Seeing Exoplanets Sideways
Given that I’m currently working on a book about relativity, I’m spending a lot of time idly thinking about various relativistic effects. Many of these won’t end up in the final book, but they’re fun to think about. One thing that occurred to be earlier, while thinking about something else entirely, is the Doppler shift. […]
Writing Relativity vs. Writing Quantum
Fall term classes ended yesterday, officially– my last class was Friday– so I’m shifting over to spend more time working on the sequel to How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, which involves talking to Emmy about relativity. Progress has been slower than last time, largely because the previous book was written while I was […]