Silly Poll: Scary Creatures

SteelyKid has a fever, and can’t go to day care, so I’m staying home with her. This pretty much rules out significant serious blogging, so here’s a poll to keep you amused: Which of these threats is most threatening?(survey) Choose only one.

Dorky Poll: Photon Operators

Prompted by working on lecture notes for Quantum Optics last night, a Dorky Poll about the mathematical formalism of photon number states What’s your favorite photon operator?(polls) I know it’s hard to pick, but choose only one.

Silly Poll: Choose Only One

I have a Dorky Poll idea for later in the day, but let’s get this out of the way first: Choose only one:(opinion) Don’t say I never gave you these options.

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Silly Poll: Beverages

I’m a little fried from yesterday’s frantic running around, so while there are a couple of physics things I’d like to write about, I have neither the time nor the brainpower. So here’s a silly little poll, prompted by the large amount of ice I go through at home (I’m trying to lose some weight,… Continue reading Silly Poll: Beverages

Historical Physicist Smackdown: Electric Theory

I’m nearly done with Graham Farmelo’s biography of Dirac (honest), which discusses the major attempts to understand the behavior of electrons in quantum mechanics. this calls for a dorky poll: Which theorist of the electron was the best?(poll) Try not to base your selection on which of these historical physicists has the best biography written… Continue reading Historical Physicist Smackdown: Electric Theory

Academic Poll: Black or White?

I usually try to stay out of religious wars, but there’s one that is affecting my teaching this term, and it struck me as a good topic for a blog poll: Which do you prefer for low-tech presentations?(surveys) So, what’s your favorite low-tech presentation technology?

Philosophical Poll: Chickens and Eggs, Experiment and Theory

I’m halfway through Graham Farmelo’s Dirac biography at the moment, and enjoying it quite a bit. Farmelo cites Dirac as one of the first physicists to evaluate theories on their mathematical beauty, rather than waiting for experiments. This is in stark contrast to his Cambridge colleague Rutherford, who was highly skeptical of abstract theory, and… Continue reading Philosophical Poll: Chickens and Eggs, Experiment and Theory

Dorky Poll: State Manipulation

I’m teaching Quantum Optics again this term, talking about the interaction between light and matter in circumstances where you need to account for the quantum nature of one or both of those. We’re starting on the actual interactions today, albeit with a semi-classical approach (Einstein coefficients and the Fermi Golden Rule), but we’ve just finished… Continue reading Dorky Poll: State Manipulation