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Physics, Politics, Pop Culture
"Uncertain Principles" features the miscellaneous ramblings of a physicist at a small liberal arts college. Physics, politics, pop culture, and occasional conversations with his dog.
You've read the blog, now try the book: How to Teach Physics to Your Dog will be published December 22nd by Scribner.
"Prof. Orzel gives the impression of an everyday guy who just happens to have a vast but hidden knowledge of physics." (anonymous student evaluation comment)
Emmy is a German Shepherd mix, and the Queen of Niskayuna. She likes treats, walks, chasing bunnies, and quantum physics.
Category: Quantum Computing
Today's Quantum Optics lecture is about quantum computing experiments, and how different types of systems stack up. Quantum computing, as you probably know if you're reading this blog, is based on building a computer whose "bits" can not only take...
Posted by Chad Orzel at 8:50 AM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Pop Culture
Both Physics Buzz and the X-Change Files are noting the Imagine Science Film Festival starting tomorrow in New York City. As the Buzz notes: This is only the film festival's second year, but it's already attracted the attention of major...
Posted by Chad Orzel at 9:55 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Course Reports
The abbreviation here has a double meaning-- both "Open Access" and "Operator Algebra." In my Quantum Optics class yesterday, I was talking about how to describe "coherent states" in the photon number state formalism. Coherent states are the best quantum...
Posted by Chad Orzel at 10:57 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Physics
Prompted by working on lecture notes for Quantum Optics last night, a Dorky Poll about the mathematical formalism of photon number states What's your favorite photon operator?(polls) I know it's hard to pick, but choose only one....
Posted by Chad Orzel at 9:58 AM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Physics
Film critic A. O. Scott can't even be bothered to get the right names for the crucial scientific principles that he waves off as "complex and esoteric." This is a pretty sad showing, given that I can explain them to my dog.
Posted by Chad Orzel at 2:50 PM • 22 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Physics
I'm teaching my Quantum Optics class again this term, out of a completely different textbook than last time around-- I'm using Mark Fox's Quantum Optics from the Oxford Master Series in AMO Physics, which is more of a regular textbook....
Posted by Chad Orzel at 11:23 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Polls
What's your favorite method for shifting the energy levels of atoms?
Posted by Chad Orzel at 9:30 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Physics
A paper proposing a way to create quantum superposition of viruses is clever, and all, but I'm not sure it adds anything that you wouldn't get from non-biological objects of the same scale.
Posted by Chad Orzel at 10:44 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Physics
How do you like your quantum mechanics: Schroedinger picture or Heisenberg picture?
Posted by Chad Orzel at 11:20 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Physics with Emmy
One of our poetry contest winners has been reading his proof copy of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, and posted some comments. Actually, it was posted last week, but I was at Worldcon, and not dealing with much...
Posted by Chad Orzel at 10:40 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
