Category: Science

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Customer Reviews Edition

Having seen other authors led into destruction by responding to customer reviews on Amazon, I tend to approach the customer reviews of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog with some trepidation. It turns out, though, that they’re really good. And I don’t mean that in a Harriet Kalunser kind of way– the positive reviews… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Customer Reviews Edition

Neil Bates Owes Me $160

That’s the bill for the time that I spent on deciphering his supposed falsification of decoherence. I don’t want anyone to fall for his false argument, so here’s the correct explanation of the scenario, to save other people the trouble. The center of his so-called “proof” is this modified Mach-Zehnder Inteferometer: Light enters at the… Continue reading Neil Bates Owes Me $160

Public Knowledge of Science: The More Things Change, the More They Don’t

The NSF’s Science and Engineering Indicators report came out not too long ago, and the bulk of it is, as usual, spent on quasi-quantitative measures of scientific productivity– numbers of degrees granted, numbers of patent applications for various countries, etc. I find all of those things pretty deeply flawed, so I tend to skip past… Continue reading Public Knowledge of Science: The More Things Change, the More They Don’t

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Categorization

We’re once again in the “things are in the pipeline, but nothing has been posted recently” mode, which is a good excuse for some Amazon neepery. Since the AP review came out, and was printed in 20-odd papers, the sales rank has climbed back into the four digits, and has spent the last few days… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Categorization

Where I’m Going to Be: Physics Conferences

I’ve mentioned before that I’m going to be giving an invited talk in the LaserFest session at the APS March Meeting. I finally got around to registering for the meeting, and booking my travel. $1,500 on the college credit card– whee! The March Meeting program is one of the more intimidating meeting programs I’ve ever… Continue reading Where I’m Going to Be: Physics Conferences

Seven Essential Elements of Quantum Physics

The previous collection of things everyone should know about quantum physics is a little meta– it’s mostly talking up the importance and relevance of the theory, and not so much about the specifics of the theory. Here’s a list of essential elements of quantum physics that everyone ought to know, at least in broad outlines:… Continue reading Seven Essential Elements of Quantum Physics

Four Things Everybody Should Know About Quantum Physics

Derek Lowe has a post talking about things biologists should know about medicinal chemistry. It’s a good idea for a post topic, so I’m going to steal it. Not to talk about medicinal chemistry, or biologists, of course, but to talk about my own field, and what everyone– not just scientists– should know about quantum… Continue reading Four Things Everybody Should Know About Quantum Physics

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update

The college bookstore has set up a display table right at the front of the store with a bunch of copies of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, which is kind of a kick. Some of my students asked me about it in lab yesterday. The big news, though, is that the Associated Press… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update

How to Make Slow Atoms and Molecules 2

Consider the air around you, which is hopefully at something like “room temperature”– 290-300 K (60-80 F). That temeprature is a measure of the kinetic energy of the moving atoms and molecules making up the gas. At room temperature, the atoms and molecules in the air around you are moving at something close to the… Continue reading How to Make Slow Atoms and Molecules 2