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Tag Archives: physics
The Nobel Show
There is nothing else like it in science, the annual awarding of the Nobel Prizes for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry and economics. I wish the awards were as eagerly anticipated by the world’s populations as say the Super Bowl or the World Cup; but this is the biggest show in science. I also wish [...]
Posted in Commentable Also tagged chemistry, economics, medicine, Nobel, physiology, PR, show Leave a comment
Murphy’s Laws for theoretical physicists
1. Fix a mistake in one mammoth calculation, another mistake elsewhere is inevitable (mathematical whack-a-mole law). 2. If you base your results on the work of others, a flaw in one of those works will be the worst possible for your work. 3. The longer your paper, the more likely you are to forget where [...]
Changing the frame of reference for quantum mechanics
Is there a relationship between the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and quantum nonlocality? Only a quantum physicist should know, or care. Wrong, at least in one way. Granted, quantum mechanics is a tough subject. So is your brain. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth knowing about. As for quantum physicists knowing about such a relationship, well [...]
Posted in Impact: Quantum Physics Also tagged action at a distance, entanglement, Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, information theory, nonlocality, quantum physics 2 Comments
Graphene finds mass appeal
Thanks to the 2010 Nobel Prize for physics, graphene is a hot topic. That doesn’t mean it’s a household word. Graphene is not like pencil lead, which most people know is graphite. (That may hold for another generation or two, pencils are disappearing into tiny niches.) Yet graphene is graphite. Same stuff, pure carbon, just [...]
Posted in Impact: Nanotechnology Also tagged carbon, Dirac equation, graphene, mass, massless, mathematics, nanotube, quantum physics Leave a comment
Nobels for trend setting: Graphene and IVF
Nobel Prizes are sometimes perfunctory – lifetime achievement, arcane fields. Not this year. The Nobel committees seem to have their brains operating with a vision; they’re seeing a larger context and signaling their awareness. This year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology went to Robert Edwards the founding father of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This is [...]
Posted in Impact: Nanotechnology Also tagged Edwards, fertilization, Geim, graphene, in vitro, IVF, medicine, nanotechnology, natal biology, Nobel, Novoselov, Scotch tape Leave a comment
Ununseptium 117: The beginning or the end
Does the periodic table ever end? That becomes a real question after the discovery (manufacture, really) of a new element, temporarily called ununseptium (Latin for 117) with an atomic weight of 117. This element was especially difficult. Elements 116 and 118 were already produced. Physicists knew the gap element existed but to produce it required [...]
Posted in Impact: Nuclear Physics Also tagged atom, atomic table, berkelium, electron, element, half-life, isotope, particle, plateau of stability, proton, ununseptium, uranium Leave a comment
There’s more to gene expression than biochemistry
At a guess, ninety-nine percent of biologists’ attention to DNA and gene expression is based on biochemistry. That’s good, since the biochemistry is obviously important and difficult enough to analyze. However, there is something else – it’s called physics. Cells, cell components, and DNA all exist in the physical world and therefore are also affected [...]
Posted in News: Cell Biology Also tagged biochemistry, biophysics, cells, DNA, gene, gene expression, lasers, mechanical stress Leave a comment
Cats, buttered toast, and anti-gravity
Assumptions: Assume that if you drop a buttered piece of toast, it will fall to the floor butter-side down. (You could say this was a certainty, overlapping somewhat with Murphy’s Law.) Also assume that if you dropped a cat from a second floor balcony, the cat will land on its feet. Question: What if you [...]
Only real and positive
George, a physics professor, waving a sheet of paper, runs into the office of Ken, a math professor. “Ken. I’ve got it. I’ve finally got an equation that explains my data! Can you check it out for me?” Accustomed to George’s enthusiastic outbursts, Ken nodded. George handed him the paper. Ken scanned it for a [...]
Quantum Teleportation: Step 4, 150 Kilometers