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drorzel | February 23, 2012I'm grading exam papers at the dining room table when Emmy trots in. "Hey, dude," she says. "Where do we keep the superconducting wire?"
I'm not really paying attention, so I start to answer before I understand the question. "Hmm? Wire is in the basement, next to the--wait, what?"
"The superconducting wire. Where do we keep it?"
"We don't have any superconducting wire. And you're a dog. What do you need superconducting wire for, anyway?"
"I'm building a particle collider! I need superconducting wire for the beam-steering magnets."
How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog goes on sale next Tuesday…
jtoney | February 20, 2012Why has our life expectancy increased so much since the American Revolution?
According to Presidential candidate Rick Santorum: "Because God says they have rights."
What about the role of sanitation, nutrition, education, medicine?
This is an example of religious faith clashing with reason, with all due respect to those with faith.
From "Human Longevity: The Major Determining Factors" by Joseph A. Knight, M.D.:
Wealth, and an affluent environment, significantly correlate with life expectancy as shown by a marked increase in life expectancy over the past century due to the marked…
jtoney | February 15, 2012
This is a feel good story of the day - the world's first human to humanoid robot handshake, in space! The robot even sent out a tweet.
From The New York Times:
The commander of the International Space Station, Daniel Burbank, shook hands Wednesday with Robonaut. It's the first handshake ever between a human and a humanoid in space.
NASA's Robonaut was launched aboard space shuttle Discovery last February. Crews have been testing it to see how it one day might help astronauts perform space station chores.
On Wednesday, ground controllers activated computer software that enabled the robot…
jtoney | February 2, 2012
SpongeBob, that iconic, impossible character living in a pineapple under the sea. You've been living a lie, you know?
Here it is. The jig is up, so to speak.
Imagine this. An iconic figure revealed to be a lie. No, it's not the first time. When I was a boy, it was Dino the dinosaur from "The Flintsones," in his purple glory. Really?
Here's the amazing part. The designer himself has fessed up. It appears that the iconic undersea pineapple is changing its character, in response to brilliant Vi Hart's investigative, mathematical reporting. Don't believe me?
The "confession," such as it…
drorzel | February 2, 2012As I keep saying in various posts, I'm teaching a class on timekeeping this term, which has included discussion of really primitive timekeeping devices like sundials, as well as a discussion of the importance of timekeeping for navigation. To give students an idea of how this works, I arranged an experimental demonstration, coordinated with Rhett at Dot Physics. We've been trying to do this literally for months, but the weather wouldn't cooperate. Until this past weekend, when we finally managed to make measurements that allow us to do some cutting-edge science. For 200 BC, anyway...
So, what…
jtoney | January 28, 2012Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com
I've been following use of social media in freedom of speech throughout the Arab Spring...but something is going on in Oakland, California that deserves some attention.
About the live feed:
Global Revolution brings you live stream video coverage from independent journalists on the ground at nonviolent protests around the world. The channel officially started on September 17, 2011 with occupation of Liberty Square in downtown Manhattan, NYC and was the first livestream channel to cover occupy wall street protests. Since then…
drorzel | January 24, 2012So, back when How to Teach Physics to Your Dog was coming out, I did a few "dramatic readings" of bits of the book, such as this one on the Quantum Zeno Effect:
This was made with Windows Movie Maker, because it was free (came with the computer) and dead simple. However, Movie Maker on my new computers is hopelessly broken-- I've made a couple of attempts to do the same sort of thing with my laptop, but I've never managed to get more than a couple of steps in before it crashes. (To be fair, this is one of only two things that are worse under Windows 7 than Vista, and the only one that's…
jtoney | January 19, 2012
A dung beetle performing a dance on top of its dung ball. The little jig apparently helps the pea-brained beetles navigate.
CREDIT: Emily Baird; Baird E, Byrne MJ, Smolka J, Warrant EJ, Dacke M / PLoS ONE
Do you have a favorite animal? Chemist Sir Harold Kroto does. It is the dung beetle. Why?
Because it is:
an insect that has evolved to eat animal excrement. "If there were no dung beetles, we'd be 80 feet deep in elephant crap!"
The dung beetle plays an essential role in recycling organic matter for a "greener" sustainable environment. Dung beetles, it turns out, also do some dirty…
esiegel | January 18, 2012"We find them smaller and fainter, in constantly increasing numbers, and we know that we are reaching into space, farther and farther, until, with the faintest nebulae that can be detected with the greatest telescopes, we arrive at the frontier of the known Universe." -Edwin Hubble
While large parts of the internet are blacked out today, in protest of SOPA and PIPA, I could think of no better way to highlight the importance of free exchange of information on the internet than by showcasing one of the most interesting, varied and intricate objects in the entire galaxy: Messier 16, better known…
jtoney | January 18, 2012
Can a plant send tweets for water? It is possible, using a "do your own biology" approach.
From Mashable:
From SparkFun:
Botanicalls Kits let plants reach out for human help! They offer a connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status updates to your mobile phone. When your plant needs water, it will post to let you know, and send its thanks when you show it love. It comes as a kit so that you can hone your soldering skills (or teach someone else) while you build a line of communication between you and your houseplant!
This kit comes with everything you need to get your plant…
jtoney | January 7, 2012
Photo source.
Young ladies proudly displaying tattoos do not typically bring to mind a neuroscientist or a passionate advocate for science education, but that's the point.
Cara Santa Maria is a science correspondent for The Huffington Post, with the slyly named blog "Talk Nerdy To Me." I applaud her for her mission to sharing with the broader public about why science is so amazing and cool.
So who is she?
From her website:
Cara Santa Maria is not your typical neuroscientist. From cheerleader to jazz vocalist, model to tattoo enthusiast, she traveled many paths before pursuing her…
jtoney | December 22, 2011
When I was an undergraduate student in Chemistry, I was treated to an unforgettable lecture by Prof. Carl Trindel on symmetry in nature. Vi Hart's example takes this concept in a mathematical direction with depth, insight and beauty. Enjoy!
jtoney | December 8, 2011Math is boring, you say? Does your mind drift in math class, leading you to unpredictable paths layed out by doodles? Try some triangular beauty, pretending to do math.
That's the beauty of it. It's not pretending. It's real math. Trust me. Enjoy.
Why more mathematics teachers aren't using this approach is a question worth careful thought.
Thank you, Vi.
jtoney | November 29, 2011This article was co-authored with Dr. Morad Abou-Sabe', President of the Arab American League of Voters of New Jersey.
CNN's Ivan Watson talks to John King from Cairo about his exclusive interview with Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim. {February 9, 2011}
The Egyptian revolution of January 25th, 2011 created widespread euphoria of the kind only wide-eyed optimists enjoy. It was a moment in Egypt's history that should never be forgotten. It evolved naturally after six decades of oppressive military rule of Egyptians who had - almost - given up hope of any chance for change. Increasing…
esiegel | October 22, 2011"I see miracles all around me
Stop and look, it's all astounding
Water, fire, air and dirt
Fucking magnets, how do they work?
And I don't wanna talk to no scientist,
Y'all motherfuckers lyin', and gettin' me pissed." -Insane Clown Posse
While music certainly has the power to be uplifting, the Insane Clown Posse simply won't make the cut for this site. You'd do better listening to LZ Love's song,
Lift Me Up,which just might do it for you. Even so, it's nothing compared to the power of physics! In particular, the following fantastic video has been making the rounds. Have a look!
I first ran…
esiegel | October 13, 2011"The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books---a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects."
-Albert Einstein
Earlier today, I had the pleasure of visiting a high school astronomy class via Skype, answering…
esiegel | September 28, 2011"Neutrinos, they are very small.
They have no charge and have no mass
And do not interact at all.
The earth is just a silly ball
To them, through which they simply pass,
Like dustmaids down a drafty hall
Or photons through a sheet of glass.
They snub the most exquisite gas,
Ignore the most substantial wall,
Cold shoulder steel and sounding brass,
Insult the stallion in his stall,
And, scorning barriers of class,
Infiltrate you and me. Like tall
And painless guillotines they fall
Down through our heads into the grass.
At night, they enter at Nepal
And pierce the lover and his lass
From…
drorzel | September 17, 2011Those of you who follow me on Twitter/ Facebook have been getting the occasional snippet of cute dialogue from SteelyKid over there. This one's a little too long for breaking into 140-character blocks, so while I wait for her to come downstairs so we can make pancakes, a cute SteelyKid story:
We play a surprising number of games whose goal is to convince her that I'm an imbecile, one of which is me "misremembering" the lyrics of songs like "The Wheels on the Bus." One day last week, we had the following exchange (more or less) in the car:
Me: So, the wheels on the bus go up and down, right?…
jtoney | August 27, 2011On a hot August Saturday afternoon, bright sun beating down on a crowd of over 20,000, my young daughter and I had our attention focused intensely on an enormous iron gate. It was supposed to open at 6 pm, and it was now 6:10 with no sign of movement. The crowd was there for one purpose - to see the teen pop star Selena Gomez, whose television persona as Alex on "Wizards of Waverly Place" had cast its image upon millions of living rooms of families with young children as their parents hurried about preparing dinner, paying bills, checking email, bathing babies.
(A version of this article…
jtoney | August 26, 2011
As I sit here in New Jersey, of which thousands of acres are under sea level, let us hope that Hurricane Irene does not unleash her wrath upon us hapless citizens...
If Hurricane Irene does hit us full force, would it look like this?
A recent article in Science, "Computational Physics in Film" reminded me how far we have advanced in computer simulation - all based upon basic physics of fluid dynamics.
Exoticmatter NAIAD City flood from Igor Zanic on Vimeo.
A spectacular example blending fluid dynamics and art: "Naiad City Flood":
Some of the most spectacular examples of physics in film…