I realized the other day that since moving to ScienceBlogs, I’m turning into John Scalzi (Does my new body have a brand name?), what with all the posting of cute images (and spending an inordinate amount of time taking pictures with an eye toward posting them), and assigning other bloggers homework. If I had a… Continue reading The String Theory of Other Sciences
Shoot the Hostage
(Because, as anybody knows, that’s the answer to “Pop Quiz, Hotshot”…) The answer to the pop quiz posted below is “v.” That is, the speed is unchanged between the start of the problem and the collision between the ball and the pole. There are several ways to see this– conservation of energy is my usual… Continue reading Shoot the Hostage
Choose Your Own Con Panel
Kate and I will once again be attending Boskone in a couple of weeks, and for the second year running, I’ll be on a handful of panels. I had a great time as a panelist last year, so I volunteered again, and I’ve been looking forward to finding out what I’ll be on. I got… Continue reading Choose Your Own Con Panel
Pop Quiz, Hotshot
I play pick-up basketball at lunchtime a couple of days a week (in a good week, anyway). It’s become a running joke that after a particularly long or hard-fought game, I’ll announce my intention to give a pop quiz that afternoon in class. “Just work quietly at your desks, folks. I’m going to sit here… Continue reading Pop Quiz, Hotshot
Top Eleven: Michelson and Morley
The next experiment in the Top Eleven is probably the most famous failed experiment of all time. Who: Albert Michelson (1852-1931) and Edward Morley (1838-1923), American physicists. When: Their first results were reported in 1887. What: The famous Michelson-Morley experiment, which tried and failed to detect the motion of the Earth through the “luminiferous aether.”… Continue reading Top Eleven: Michelson and Morley
Show Me the Pony
Though the tagline promises politics in addition to physics and pop culture, I try to keep the political content to a minimum. Not because I’m particularly worried about offending anyone, but because I don’t particularly like the way I sound when I write about politics these days. I get very cranky, and even if I… Continue reading Show Me the Pony
Accentuate the Positive
Via Kieran Healy an example of the happy coexistence of science and religion: The Vatican Observatory. I particularly like Kieran’s comment regarding the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope: I think that’s just fantastic–like something out of Phillip Pullman. Is it too much to hope for the Vatican Superconducting Supercollider, which would once and for all resolve… Continue reading Accentuate the Positive
CFP: Least Favorite Misconceptions
I should probably stick to doing only one audience-participation thing at a time (there are more Top Eleven posts on the way), but it’s a busy week for me at work, and I’m not really going to have time to post a lot of long articles, so there will be a few “talk among yourselves”… Continue reading CFP: Least Favorite Misconceptions
Top Eleven: Michael Faraday
Next up in the Top Eleven is a man who is largely responsible for the fact that we have electricity to run the computer you’re using to read this. Who: Michael Faraday (1791-1867) a poor and self-educated British scientist who rose to become one of the greatest physicists of the 19th Century. When: Around 1831.… Continue reading Top Eleven: Michael Faraday
Happy New Year
The lunar new year on Janurary 29, 2006 marks the beginning of the Year of the Dog in the Chinese system. We are pleased to present New Year’s Greetings from Her Majesty, Emmy, Queen of Niskayuna: Bow before Emmy! Bow before Emmy NOOOOWWWWWW!!!! Or, failing that, at least rub her belly: