We no longer do what is possibly my favorite lab in the intro mechanics class. We’ve switched to the Matter and Interactions curriculum, and thus no longer spend a bunch of time on projectile motion, meaning there’s no longer room for the “target shooting” lab. It’s called that because the culmination of the lab used… Continue reading Projectile Motion, Uncertainty, and a Question of Ethics
Category: Science
DAMOP Day One
Technically, the meeting started Tuesday, but all that happened was a welcome reception, which I missed due to travel. The real beginning of the meeting was Wednesday morning, with the traditional unscheduled half-hour welcome from local dignitaries. That was followed by the Prize Session, featuring the frighteningly smart Misha Lukin, who was awarded the I.I.… Continue reading DAMOP Day One
Good Talks Are Bosons
I’m leaving this afternoon for Charlottesville, VA and the 40th annual DAMOP conference. At this meeting, we will once again be confirming the prediction of the bosonic character of interesting talks. Bosons, as you know, are quantum particles that happily occupy the same state as other bosons, and as you can see from the meeting… Continue reading Good Talks Are Bosons
Sciences vs. Humanities, Primary vs. Secondary
Thoreau offers without qualification some observations about the different approach to books taken by sciences vs. humanities. Specifically, he notes that despite frequent claims that it is the Most Important Book Ever, nobody actually reads Newton’s Principia Mathematica This is totally different from humanities. In humanities, people make a point of reading the original thinkers.… Continue reading Sciences vs. Humanities, Primary vs. Secondary
Physics vs. Chemistry
The Experimental Error blog considers the difference between disciplines (via Tom): I often contemplate the differences between these two areas of study. Also, I hear fellow undergrads argue for one or the other, usually divided along the lines of their respective major. Anymore, I think they’re so interrelated that I find it hard to find… Continue reading Physics vs. Chemistry
The Logo Problem
Speaking of conferences (as we were a little while ago), the Female Science Professor has a post on the phenomenon of logos in talk slides: Do you put your institution’s logo in your talks and on your posters at conferences? If you put a logo in your talk, do you put the logo on every… Continue reading The Logo Problem
How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
I watched Jonah Lehrer on the Colbert Report a few months ago, and thought he did a really good job. So, when we were offered free copies of his new book, How We Decide, I asked for one, even though it’s not my usual sort of thing. The main point of the book is that… Continue reading How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
Making Physics Relevant
An example problem from today’s lecture: A sleep-deprived parent is warming a bottle for a midnight feeding. He places a bottle containing 250 ml of infant formula at 275K into 300 ml of water at 320 K. When the two liquids reach equilibrium, what is the temperature of the formula?
Uranium in Drinking Water?
A former student asks about water contamination: My mother went and had our water tested and discovered that we have high uranium and radon levels. Radon is not a big deal, its a gas, and as I have read you would need to take a shower for somewhere around 4 hours to suffer damage from… Continue reading Uranium in Drinking Water?
Mysteries of Back Pain
Everybody I know who has back problems swears up and down that sleeping on a really firm mattress is key. My father used to have a big plywood board under his side of the mattress, so that his side of the bed would be less soft (I think they have since bought a new mattress… Continue reading Mysteries of Back Pain