The thirteenth edition of the physics-themed blog carnival Philosophia Naturalis has been posted at Cocktail Party Physics. There’s a whole bunch of good stuff there, and also some links to the recent silliness about the term “God Particle.” If you’re looking for good physics-related reading on the Internet, it’s your one-stop shopping source.
Month: August 2007
Fiero Francis Rizzuto, RIP
Legendary Yankee shortstop Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto died Tuesday at 89. I’ve never been a huge baseball fan, and Rizzuto’s playing days ended well before I was born, but as an announcer and pitchman, he was an absolute fixture of my childhood. (Obligatory Celebrity Dead Pool: If famous people’s deaths come in threes, who completes the… Continue reading Fiero Francis Rizzuto, RIP
Dorky Poll: i or j?
A simple but high-stakes fill-in-the-blank question: The right and proper symbol to represent the square root of negative one is _______. The incorrect answer will brand you as an engineer, and you will be cast into the outer darkness to spend eternity converting drill sizes into sensible units. Choose wisely.
Japan Travel Checklist
In just a few days, Kate and I are leaving for Japan, for a couple of weeks of tourism before Worldcon. Most of the important things have been done– we’ve got tickets, and hotel reservations, and JR Pass vouchers, and that sort of thing. Things remaining to be dealy with (a partial list): Medication. What… Continue reading Japan Travel Checklist
Alpher Obituaries
I don’t know if it’s official enough for Wikipedia, but the college has posted a nice obituary for Ralph Alpher: Alpher taught at Union from 1986 to 2004 and was director of the Dudley Observatory. He also spent more than 30 years at the General Electric Research and Development Center in Niskayuna. In 1948, as… Continue reading Alpher Obituaries
Dorky Poll: e or π?
A simple question today: Which do you prefer, e or π? They’re both irrational, they’re both “about three,” and of course they’re related by Euler’s formula, but they’re very different. One is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, the other is the base for the exponential function. You can only… Continue reading Dorky Poll: e or π?
Harry Potter, Susan Cooper, and George Orwell go to the Movies
The New York Times Sunday book review section yesterday had on the cover a review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. “Oh,” I said, “That could be interesting.” Then, I noticed. It’s by Christopher Hitchens. “Well,” I said, “Maybe they just don’t know all that many British people…” It opens with: In March 1940,… Continue reading Harry Potter, Susan Cooper, and George Orwell go to the Movies
Ralph Asher Alpher, 1921-2007
I am sorry to report the passing of Ralph Alpher, of the famous “Alpher-Bethe-Gamow” paper. I don’t know many details, but he’s been in poor health for some time, so this is sad but not surprising news. Ralph Alpher was an astrophysicist and cosmologist whose thesis work with George Gamow on the origin of the… Continue reading Ralph Asher Alpher, 1921-2007
The Bourne Conundrum
Why is it that, in the universe of The Bourne Identity and sequels, Jason Bourne’s girlfriends need to cut and dye their hair in order to go on the lam, but he makes no effort to disguise his appearance? He just wanders around looking like Matt Damon, and nobody notices him at all. Is it… Continue reading The Bourne Conundrum
Matt Ruff, Bad Monkeys [Library of Babel]
I first encountered Matt Ruff on Usenet, as a poster on rec.arts.sf.written. When I found out he had books published, I picked up Sewer, Gas, and Electric, which was good enough to put him on the buy-immediately list. Of course, that hasn’t cost me a great deal of money, as he’s only written two books… Continue reading Matt Ruff, Bad Monkeys [Library of Babel]