Physical Science
Links for 2012-09-08
Posted by Chad Orzel on September 8, 2012 In which science shows the FAA is full of crap, Slate takes on the question of science grad school, NFL team logos get redesigned to make them honest, the Joint Quantum Institute invites your Nobel guesses, and experimentalists are more sought after than theorists. Do Our Gadgets Really Threaten Planes? – WSJ.com “The odds that…
Simulating Wires with Atoms and Light: “Conduction of Ultracold Fermions Through a Mesoscopic Channel”
Posted by Chad Orzel on September 6, 2012
So, it’s been a while, but let’s see if we can’t hit the ground running with a good physics post. There have been a few notable physics events since I went on hiatus, but for a return to physics ResearchBlogging, we’ll go with something near and dear to my heart, ultracold atoms. Specifically, this Science…
Links for 2012-09-05
Posted by Chad Orzel on September 5, 2012 Confessions of a Community College Dean: Kermit How Kermit the Frog is the perfect model for an academic administrator. Chester A. Arthur: Sasquatch Trainer : Filmmaking Frenzy: Commander-in-Chief From the people who brought you “Rutherford B. Hayes, Urban Vigilante,” a movie about the only Union alumnus (so far) to be US President. In a Mass…
Will Hurricane Isaac Make a Comeback?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 5, 2012 [Update Update: The probability of ex-Isaac becoming a tropical cyclone is now 50%, and the storm is looking pretty good.] [Update: The probability of this low pressure system turing into a tropical storm has been increased to 40%. It is moving in the general direction of some relatively warm water.] Hurricane Isaac was supposed to…
What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Posted by Chad Orzel on September 4, 2012
So, a couple of months ago, I said I was taking some time off from the blog, and wasn’t sure I would make it back. What was up with that, anyway? Well, for one thing, I had a bunch of stuff to work on, and needed the extra time. I wrote a proposal for a…
Curiosity Animation
Posted by Greg Laden on September 3, 2012 The “Next Media” animation company used to send me several animations a week (a few a day for a while) but then they were bought out by a major media outlet (can’t remember which one) so most of the emails I get from them now are about how great they are, rather than providing much…
Links for 2012-09-02
Posted by Chad Orzel on September 2, 2012 Physics after accelerators, the need for more athletic thinking, a call for more phenomenological thinking in physics, and a goofy phenomenological model for politics. —— More things in heaven than earth § Unqualified Offerings A vision of a post-accelerator world for fundamental physics. Fit for Physics – Dynamics of Cats An argument that we need…
Fit for Physics
Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson on September 2, 2012 Ah, semester has started, and with it comes the grind of studying for the big test, where callow highschoolers finally get to see if they can make it in the big leagues. Here we see them in lecture: One of the 30 or so in class lectures before the test Yes, football players go to…
Does This Thing Still Work?
Posted by Chad Orzel on September 1, 2012
I might return to physics blogging at some point, but I know what people really want from this blog. So, here’s a cute kid picture. The Pip is increasingly mobile, and here we see him trying to climb into my lap, with an assist from big sister SteelyKid. Giving them superhero-ish noms du Net may…
NSF AST: we hear ya, bro
Posted by Steinn Sigurðsson on September 1, 2012 Anyone want to buy some telescopes? Heavily used. Free to a good home. The NSF has issued a preliminary response to the NSF Astronomy Portfolio Review. Game on. NSF MPS/AST Response to Portfolio Review Report (pdf) This is a 4 page response from NSF Astronomy Division Director Ulvestad to the Portfolio Review, from August 31st…