1. esiegel
  2. A Quantum of Parody (Synopsis)

A Quantum of Parody (Synopsis)

By esiegel on June 10, 2015.

Although physicists are well-known for their quirky personalities, the in-joke among ourselves is our extremely nerdy sense of humor, telling jokes about our field, our equations, and of course, the legends in our field. These range from the subtle (Schrodinger walks into a bar, and also he doesn't), to the mischievous (Heisenberg gets pulled over by a police car. "Do you know how fast you were going?" "I have no idea, officer, but I know exactly where I am!"), and beyond.

Image credit: Courtesy of peterdsmith.com. Image credit: Courtesy of peterdsmith.com.

But one of the field's most iconic personas -- Niels Bohr -- inspired a whole set of volumes on jokes dedicated to him and his works: The Journal of Jocular Physics, published in three editions on the occasions of his 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays. It's the closest thing you'll ever see to a comedy roast of a physicist.

Image credit: Courtesy of the Niels Bohr Archive. Image credit: Courtesy of the Niels Bohr Archive.

Paul Halpern has the inside scoop on this historical curiosity of physics.

Tags
Physics

More like this

The Fermi Alternative
Given the recent Feynman explosion (timeline of events), some people may be casting about looking for an alternative source of colorful-character anecdotes in physics. Fortunately, the search doesn't need to go all that far-- if you flip back a couple of pages in the imaginary alphabetical listing…
Everybody Wants to Rule the Quantum World (Synopsis)
The biggest, most surprising revolution that came along with the development of quantum theory, quantum mechanics and later, quantum field theory, was the overthrowing of the idea of a deterministic Universe, replacing it with a Universe where only a probability distribution of outcomes could be…
Top Physics Breakthroughs of the 13th Baktun
We're at that time of year where people publish lists of top stories of the year, but as many crazy people will be happy to remind you, this Friday marks the end of another calendrical period, in the Mayan calendar. So, I'm going to steal an idea from a college classmate on Facebook, who wrote:…
The Planets that Never Were (Synopsis)
In 1992, scientists discovered the first planets orbiting a star other than our Sun. The pulsar PSR B1257+12 was discovered to have its own planetary system, and since then, exoplanet discoveries have exploded! Artist’s conception of worlds around PSR 1257+12, the first system (discovered 1992)…

You physicists don't have a monopoly on this. We lowly chemists have our own versions, although they are often pictorial in nature so it's hard to share here. I'll give a couple a try:

Fe++
/ \
Fe++ Fe++
| |
Fe++ Fe++
\ /
Fe ++

"Ferrous Wheel"

Horse + VVVV = "A horse with nonane"

(I won't even attempt "Steroid to Heaven"!)

Don't get me started on laser physics jokes: stimulated emission, what's that about?

By Ted Lawry (not verified) on 10 Jun 2015 #permalink

@Sean T,
Two I saw in high school:

PhD
/ \
| |
\ /
PhD

(Paradox)

MD
/ \
| |
| | MD
\ /

(Meta-physicians)