Chad Orzel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Union College in Schenectady, NY. He blogs about physics, life in academia, ephemeral pop culture, and anything else that catches his fancy.
Claims of the non-existence of dark matter are a staple of astro-kookery, but Physics World today has a news story with the provocative title "Galaxy survey casts doubts on cold dark matter," which makes it sound like people from reputable collaborations are questioning the existence of dark matter…
Chris Mooney visited Union on Wednesday, talking to two classes (one Environmental Studies class, and one class on presidential politics), and giving an evening lecture titled "Science Escape 2008." He's an excellent speaker, so if you're looking for someone to give a talk about science and…
Good Math, Bad Math : Credit Default Swaps: Gambling as Insurance
"Credit default swaps are interesting - in the same way that a Rube Goldberg device is interesting. They are in a fundamental sense very simple, but the structure that's built up around them is so bizarre, so ridiculous on the face…
Your weekly picture of SteelyKid with Appa:
She's getting big enough that it's starting to be difficult to keep them both in the frame, at least in the porta-crib bassinet thing. I may need to change the way I'm taking these.
On the developmental front, Kate reports hearing SteelyKid laugh on…
As part of my intermittent series of posts highlighting particular individual projects, here's a request for basic scientific equipment for a school in Manhattan:
You will make it possible for my students to develop a greater understanding of the nature and the process of science by contributing…
Doug Natelson is thinking about fortuitous physics, inspired by some solid state examples:
Every now and then you stumble across a piece of physics, some detail about how the universe works, that is extremely lucky in some sense. For example, it's very convenient that Si is a great semiconductor,…
Another question from a generous donor, in this case Natalie, who asks:
As for my question, how about "who is your favorite author, and why?" or, if you'd rather, "what's your favorite book, and why?"
This is a difficult question, because it's subject to a sort of quantum projection noise. That…
Some time back, I wrote about what you need to make a quantum computer. Given that it's election season, I thought I'd revisit the topic by looking in detail at the candidate technologies for quantum computing.
The first up is Ion Trap Quantum Computing, probably the most well-established of any of…
Inside Higher Ed this morning has a story about a mock trial to be held at Northern Kentucky University:
The trial centers around the termination of fictitious biology teacher Susan Scott (a traditionally trained evolution adherent), who according to her complaint, encouraged students to "explore…
Introduction to the work energy theorem | Dot Physics
"I think it is interesting to look at how most textbooks define energy:
Energy is the ability to do work
This is really a stupid definition. Kind of circular logic, if you ask me. "
(tags: physics education science energy academia)
Powell…
Chris Mooney will be visiting Union tomorrow (I'm picking him up at the airport in a couple of hours). He'll be speaking to a couple of classes and then giving a presentation about science and politics in the evening.
If you have any questions that you've been dying to ask Chris, and haven't been…
Lots of people talk about "Science 2.0" and "crowdsourcing" and the like. EurekAlert provides a story about taking it to the next level:
Nalini Nadkarni of Evergreen State College currently advises a team of researchers who sport shaved heads, tattooed biceps and prison-issued garb rather than the…
"Donate to my dad's DonorsChoose challenge, or I will pop you right in the mouth!"
"Bang! Zoom! To the Moon!"
You don't want to mess with her-- she's fierce. So please give generously.
For those keeping track, the current tally, at the time of this typing, is $4,887. Or, for the figure you really…
Physics - From atoms to molecules (and back)
"Atoms colliding in a magnetic field can form weakly bound states called Feshbach molecules. These states have now been used in combination with advanced laser techniques to create tightly bound ground-state molecules close to quantum degeneracy."
(…
Checking in from Cairo, Senior Uncertain Principles Middle East Correspondant Paul Schemm, with a wire story titled "Ultraconservative Islam on Rise in Mideast":
Critics worry that the rise of Salafists in Egypt, as well as in other Arab countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, will crowd out the more…
From this weekend's visit home, a picture of my father and me, with our respective babies:
You recognize SteelyKid, I hope. The fuzzy yellow guy is Bodie, my parents' new Labrador Retriever puppy. Bodie is one day older than SteelyKid, and true to his Labrador breeding, he's a born experimentalist…
the New York Times Magazine has a cover story this week about Barack Obama's efforts to reach working-class voters. The headline writers did it no favors by tagging it "Will gun-toting, churchgoing white guys pull the lever for Obama?," which makes it sound like the worst sort of demographic…
Michael Nielsen » The most remarkable graph in the history of sport
"It may not be obvious at first glance, but it's a remarkable graph, even if you don't give a fig about cricket"
(tags: sports statistics)
The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.: On Being Skipped
Notes from the…
Don't scrap the squiggle! -- Crooked Timber
"My only complaint about the crawler is that CNN removes it from the screen when the debate finishes. I absolutely wish that they continued to show the favourable/unfavourable reactions of the dial-testing focus group to the talking heads on the news…
In the wake of the debate the other night, there's been a lot of talk about the disparity between the way tv pundits "scored" it-- most of them thought McCain did well-- and post-debate polling of actual voters, which gave a huge edge to Obama. Kevin Drum, Mark Kleiman, and Steve Benen all comment…
I have to say, I had no idea that offering to dance like a monkey would be quite so appealing. Apparently, though, it's a big hit-- John Scalzi proclaimed it "the comedy highlight of 2008." This, from a year featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin.
In the two days since Scalzi's post, donations have…
Physicists set new entanglement record - physicsworld.com
"Researchers in China and Europe have entangled a record-breaking 10 quantum bits -- an important breakthrough in the quest to develop practical quantum computers."
(tags: physics quantum computing science news experiment optics)
Ananova…
SteelyKid is ten weeks old today! To celebrate, here's the weekly picture with Appa for scale, with a special bonus Kate for additional perspective:
This is the "please, won't you go to sleep?" posture, but SteelyKid, sensing the camera, is having none of that.
Tomorrow, we're off to Scenic…
Another DonorsChoose incentive claimed: Ewan asks for a blog post about "the neatest attractions in Albany and the surrounding area."
"Neatest" is in the eye of the beholder, of course, and as is the case with any area, the worst people to ask about local tourism are local residents (ask a…
One of the annoying things about trying to explain quantum mechanics to a general audience is that the weirdness of the theory forces you to use incredibly convoluted examples. Pop-science books about quantum physics are full of schemes that the producers of the Saw movies would reject as…
Once again, God help me, I watched the entire debate last night. I don't quite know why, as it wasn't that great as spectacle, and it's not like there was any way it would change my vote...
I wound up being struck by something, though. The last eight years have made me pretty cynical about American…
slacktivist: Racism and litigation
"[N]o, it's not an overstatement or an uncharitable characterization to say that anyone swallowing this ACORN-scapegoating is insane and a racist bastard. This is a baseless assertion that begins with the argument that poor people and black people are the powers…
Today, we have the first claimant of a donation incentive, from Sarah, who asks:
If you could go back in time to any lab and be there as X discovery was being made, which lab/when/where would you go? I figure this could be spun a couple of ways, either to talk about some really cool science or some…
First and foremost, thank you to everybody who has donated to my DonorsChoose challenge this year. At the time of this writing, we've raised just over $1,700, temporarily good enough for first place on the ScieceBlogs leader board.
If you haven't contributed yet, we've got lots of incentives to try…
Fafblog! the whole world's only source for Fafblog.
"Okay okay but who is Barack Obama, really, while I am playing scary music and flashing this terrifyingly desaturated image of Barack Obama in a turban across your television screen? "Oh my god I have no idea, who is this mysteriously radical…
