physical science the study of non-living systems
From Flickr, by jurvetson
May 8, 2008
The Quantum Pontiff
BQP, NP, and All That The mothership, aka Seed magazine, has a crib sheet for quantum computing. Its not half bad, considering how bad things like this can go. And of course this is probably due in part to the fact that they list the...
Dynamics of Cats
Wingardium Leviosa Aragog Now we know why Ron Weasley didn't like Astronomy...
The Quantum Pontiff
Back to Back Statistics Two fans in Dodger stadium caught back to back fouls during a Mets game (and, almost as importantly, the Dodgers lost, woohoo!)...
The Quantum Pontiff
In Probability We Trust? When discussing ways that quantum computing may fail, a common idea is that it may turn out that the linearity of quantum theory fails. Since no one has seen any evidence of nonlinearity in quantum theory, and it is hard...
Uncertain Principles
Digital Is Not Infallible I've been grading lab reports in two different classes, and I've been struck once again by the way that students attach mystical properties to anything with a digital readout. The uncertainty used in calculations is invariably put down as half...
Uncertain Principles
Non-Dorky Poll: Beer Pong Paddles or no?
May 7, 2008
Molecule of the Day
Triacetin (Always liquid, always semi-edible) Triacetin is the glycerol triester of acetic acid:...
The Intersection
My MSNBC Interview About Cyclone Nargis MSNBC's Alan Boyle, author of Cosmic Log, just interviewed me about the ever worsening Nargis catastrophe. You can hear the audio here, and excerpts here. An excerpt: Q: Is this another sign that the global warming nightmare is coming upon...
Uncertain Principles
Pimp Me Old Papers What pre-WWII paper should I read for the Skulls in the Stars challenge?
Highly Allochthonous
What's up with those Archean sandstones? In addition to searching out evidence for Archean microbial mats, my revisitation of the Pongola sandstones gave me the chance to look a bit more closely at their lithology. When I last posted pictures from this sequence, there was a...
Dynamics of Cats
Chaiten Volcano Chile The Chaiten Volcano in Chile is erupting, first time in at least 2000 years, more likely the last eruption was about 10,000 years ago. The eruption is intensifying and local towns are being evacuated...
May 6, 2008
bioephemera
"Between me, the rock, and my diamond chainsaw" Helaman Ferguson's algorist sculptures capture math in the palm of your hand.
The Quantum Pontiff
Happenings in the Quantum World, May 6, 2008 New leader at the Perimeter Institute this Friday, Perimeter researcher wins prestigious award, a summer school on quantum cryptography, the answer is not quantum physics, and quarter charge quasiparticles for quantum computing....
Greg Laden's Blog
Cyclone Nargis Death Toll Rises The Myanmar/Burma death toll is now experiencing the usual effects of poor information, limited reporting, and the outcome of being stuck between sensationalism and horror. Most agencies are reporting 22,000 dead with twice that missing. I do think that these numbers are meaningless at this...
May 5, 2008
Molecule of the Day
Fmoc (Amino acid condoms) Automated solid-phase synthesis of biomolecules defines 20th century biology. I previously covered a protecting group that is ubiquitous in DNA synthesis, but the Nobel was actually awarded for peptide chemistry....
Dynamics of Cats
the three stages of proposal rejection selected referee comments on "A bold proposal to do something new and interesting", years 1-3 with added bonus translation...
Uncertain Principles
Relative Dog Motion "Oh, God," I say to the dog. "Don't tell me you ran out of quantum physics books, and have started reading about relativity."
May 4, 2008
Dynamics of Cats
lucky man some time ago I made an off-cuff comment to a colleague that he "had been lucky". He reacted badly to this, and rather curtly told me he resented being told he had been lucky, he had worked for his...
May 3, 2008
Deep Sea News
Will climate change have negative effects on deep-sea corals? Seawater chemistry is changing with the addition of fossil fuel CO2 to the atmosphere. This influx of CO2 is causing the world's oceans to become more acidic, which is bad news for corals and other marine organisms that use calcium carbonate to build their skeletons and protective shells.
Aardvarchaeology
Jeff Medkeff on Automated Optical Astronomy They aren't looking for planet-sized objects anymore, they're down to bits of rock and ice a kilometer across.
May 2, 2008
Adventures in Ethics and Science
Friday Sprog Blogging: experimental results (milk + lemon juice). This Friday we're reporting on one of the experiments we were looking forward to last Friday, the one in which milk is curdled. (We'll report on our experimental attempts to dissolve an avocado next Friday.) We started with a...
The Intersection
Cyclone Nargis Uncoils Kinda like opening up your fist after you've punched someone...in this case, that someone was Myanmar, and the punch came at Category 3 strength.... CORRECTION: Looks like the punch was actually a Category 4......
Uncertain Principles
Dorky Poll: Non-Abelian Sciences Chemical Physics or Physical Chemistry? And what's the difference, anyway?
May 1, 2008
Molecule of the Day
Dichloromethane (Now healthier with 50% less chlorine!) Chlorinated solvents are great solvents. The polarizability of chlorine, moderate electronegativity, moderate volatility, lack of acidic protons or reactivity - it all adds up to a great reaction medium. However, they usually are toxic....
Greg Laden's Blog
Carnival The Carnival of Space - the anniversary edition is at Why Homeschool....
“I'll call it 'Physical Chemistry' or 'Chemical Physics' depending on which department is providing me with free food at the moment.” tcmJOE on Dorky Poll: Non-Abelian Sciences
