March 13, 2014
So, last week I idly wondered about the canonical falling-bomb whistle. The was originally intended to be a very short post just asking the question, but I got caught up in thinking about it, and it ended up being more substantial. And leaving room for further investigation in the form of, you…
March 12, 2014
I alluded to this on Twitter, and meant to leave that be, but the other thing I was going to blog today didn't come together, and I probably shouldn't leave a cryptic tweet as my only comment. So...
One of the links getting passed around a lot in my social-media circles is this Tumblr post from Ben…
March 11, 2014
In which Rhett and I talk about Cosmos. What, you thought there would be another topic? We have contractual obligations, you know...
Okay, there were some other topics like Battlestar Galactica (both versions), why so much of what's on Discovery Channel and TLC sucks these days, the flawed…
March 10, 2014
It says here in the fine print that my blogging license could be revoked if I fail to offer a public opinion on the Cosmos reboot, which premiered last night. I missed the first couple of minutes-- I had The Pip for bedtime, and he didn't start snoring until 8:58-- but saw most of it in real time.…
March 8, 2014
One of the endlessly recurring topics around here is the use of PowerPoint and comparable presentation software. Usually because of some ill-informed rant against the use of PowerPoint.
It's come around yet again in a particularly ironic fashion, via an online slideshow at Slate, the only medium…
March 7, 2014
Not that long ago, SteelyKid was doing something violent with toys (she's very tough, as you can see from the featured image above), and in the process made the canonical falling-bomb whistle noise. And it occurred to me to wonder, why that sound?
I mean, I've seen footage of falling bombs and the…
March 6, 2014
Given the academic circles I run in, it's not surprising that one of the most repeated stories crossing my social media feeds yesterday had to do with the changes to the SAT. Starting in 2015, the essay section will no longer be mandatory, and they're going to reconfigure the reading and math…
March 4, 2014
In which we move out of the original trilogy, and into J.J. Abrams territory. Cue the lens flare!
This week's random assortment of topics includes travel, airports, physics models of loading and unloading planes, uses and abuses of curve fitting, odd stuff we get sent to review, and high-speed…
March 4, 2014
In October 1988, I trashed my parents' basement in order to get into college.
OK, the causal connection is a little indirect, but it's there. I was applying to college that fall, and needed to write an essay to go with my application. I've always been able to write stuff with very little effort, so…
March 3, 2014
This year's "Flame Challenge" asks scientists to explain color in terms an 11-year-old can understand. The rules limit answers to either 300 words of text or a 6-minute video. 300 words is ridiculously short, so video is clearly the way to go. Of course, I'm not much of a video expert, but then,…
March 1, 2014
Kate has been cutting The Pip's hair a little bit at a time, and this morning he demanded a trim. This is a somewhat fraught process, as he's two, and thus tends not to hold still very well. While Kate was trying to get him arranged, SteelyKid came bouncing into the bathroom to "watch," which is a…
February 28, 2014
I got book edits this week, gave an exam on Thursday, and pre-registration for our spring term classes is just beginning, so I have a parade of students begging to get into this course or that one to deal with. So I have no more time for detailed blogging, but will do a bit of tab-clearing to end…
February 27, 2014
Last week, we looked at the resistance of a voltage sensor by using the discharge of a capacitor, getting a value that was a bit high, but not wildly out of line with the specs. This time out, we're going to look at the resistance of a current meter, because some students asked about it during…
February 26, 2014
Matt Reed, who will forever be "Dean Dad" to me, has a post on "new" topics that might be considered for "gen ed" requirements, that is, the core courses that all students are required to take. This spins off a question Rebecca Townsend asked (no link in original), "Should public speaking be a…
February 25, 2014
This week's episode of Uncertain Dots is, if anything, even more free-form than previous weeks, including a brief cameo from one of Rhett's kids:
Topic covered include the arrangement of faculty offices, the relative lack of demos for E&M (compared to mechanics, where there are endless videos…
February 25, 2014
I'm running errands today, so here's a quick post picking up a question from last week's Olympic physics hangout: What sport involves the least physics?
One of the kids in the classes we were video chatting with asked that, and I really like the question, though it was a struggle to answer. It's…
February 24, 2014
Over at Backreaction, Bee takes up the eternal question of scientists vs. journalists in exactly the manner you would expect from a physicist: she makes a graph. Several of them, in fact.
It's generally a good analysis of the situation, namely that scientists and journalists disagree about how to…
February 22, 2014
I spent a while on Friday morning talking about the physics of the Olympics with a couple of science classes in Tennessee and Lawrence Norris from the National Society of Black Physicists, organized by Adam "@2footgiraffe" Taylor. This was done via a Google hangout, so the video is recorded on…
February 21, 2014
For the latest in our ongoing series of post where I overthink simple questions, I'd like to present the longest single continuous experiment in Uncertain Principles history, which took six and a half hours yesterday. All to answer the question in the post title.
This may seem like a waste, given…
February 20, 2014
In comments to the post on computer display colors, Will Slaton notes that Mac displays emit polarized light. And, indeed, this is an inherent part of the backlit LCD technology-- the individual pixels are bits of liquid crystal between two polarizers, and an applied voltage causes the liquid…
February 19, 2014
Ages and ages ago, I posted the picture that's the "featured image" above, and asked people to submit physics comments about it. Then I got distracted by a series of shiny things, and never did anything with the handful of responses I got. Because I'm a Terrible Person.
Anyway, it's long overdue,…
February 18, 2014
In which Rhett and I talk about color vision, undergraduate research projects, blog networks, outreach activities, and how thermodynamics is a lie.
Things mentioned in the discussion:
The Flame Challenge
My post about looking at computer monitors with a spectrometer
Physics Quest
I'm inadvertently…
February 18, 2014
About three hours from now, Rhett Allain and I are doing another "Uncertain Dots" Google hangout. We don't have a real clear topic, so if you have any questions about physics, academia, blogs, etc. that you'd like to hear us answer, this would be a great time to ask them, via comments here, email,…
February 18, 2014
This year's "Flame Challenge" is to explain color in terms an 11-year-old can follow. I have opinions on this subject, a background in AMO physics, and access to scientific equipment, so I'm putting something together. In the course of this, though, it occurred to me to wonder how my different…
February 17, 2014
In the previous post about luge, I mentioned that there was one thing that came up when Rhett and I were talking about this, namely why there are differences in times between racers. The toy physics model I set up last time suggests that the difference between riders is only a matter of…
February 16, 2014
The outrage of the moment in academic circles is this Nick Kristof column on how academics need to be more engaged with a broader public. And it's really impressive how he manages to take an idea that I basically agree with-- I regularly give talks on the need for scientists to do more outreach via…
February 14, 2014
In the Uncertain Dots hangout the other day, Rhett and I went off on a tangent about the physics of the Olympics, specifically the luge. If you're not familiar with this, it's basically psycho sledding: people riding tiny little sleds down a curved track at 80mph.
The "featured image" above shows…
February 14, 2014
We got over a foot of snow yesterday and today, so schools are closed. Except Union is a residential college, so we never close, which means I have to dig my car out all the same. Which I did, clearing a path to the unplowed street, then took Emmy for her morning walk. During which, of course, the…
February 12, 2014
I didn't advertise it heavily this time, but Rhett and I did another G+ hangout yesterday, and the video is online now:
We talked for a while about the wonders and importance of VPython coding (including some "Oh, I should totally do that..." moments), where we get post ideas (including a…
February 12, 2014
Kevin Drum and Aaron Carroll report on a new study of the effect of new grocery stores opening in "food deserts" in poor neighborhood. The study is paywalled, so I can't speak to the whole thing, but both of them quote similar bits making the same point: no statistically significant effects on the…
