Space Flight Awareness

Guys, I want to talk to you today about something kind of serious. Something that affects all of us. I want to talk about Space Flight Awareness. Hey, don't give me that look, OK? Just level with me for a minute. I know that as your resident blogger you may think I am old and out of touch with the modern world. That I'm not hip to what's dope on the street. Well, you would be right. I have no idea how to talk to you about Space Flight Awareness without using a pamphlet from the 1950's. Which is .. Read more »

Up In the Clouds

March Meeting madness is going strong here in Portland. Once again, if you're in the area tomorrow, the public lecture by James Kakalios on the Physics of Superheroes promises to be great.On the meeting side, the number of talks this year is mind boggling (8000!). Through watching a handful of them so far I have come to two definite conclusions. Number 1: People are still using math. Liberally. Number 2. Physicists love to model stuff. Seriously, those folks will model just about anything. It'.. Read more »

A taste of the APS March Meeting: finance's fractal nature

Portland, Oregon. Not pictured: amazing physics breakthroughs.http://www.flickr.com/photos/infinitewilderness/ / CC BY-NC 2.0At any time of year, Portland's charms—its scenic bridges, lush parks, microbreweries and the incomparable Powell's bookstore—would tempt me to visit. But I've never longed to be in that city as much as I do right now. The American Physical Society's March Meeting is in full swing, and I'm missing out on the hottest breakthroughs in condensed matter physics (th.. Read more »

Have some Pi for Einstein's Birthday

Q: What's the area of a circle?A: Pi r squared . . . wait, that can't be right, pi r round, brownies r squared.Sorry, that's my favorite, bad pi joke. I send it out to you in celebration of Pi-day, which also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday... Read more »

Nico Turns 90 (and I was there!)

Talk about being in the right place at the right time  on Friday, March 12, 2010, I had the privilege and good fortune to be able to attend a conference and birthday party in celebration of one of the greatest physicists of the 20th and 21st centuries  Nicolaas Bloembergen.Hes called Nico, turned 90, has a Nobel Prize, and is really nice. I had the pleasure of chatting with him briefly at The Nicolaas Bloembergen Nobel Prize Scientific Symposium sponsored by the University of Arizona Colleg.. Read more »

Cone Heads

If you happen to be in the Portland area next Wednesday, please stop into the APS March Meeting public lecture. Speaking will be none other than James Kakalios, the creative mind behind the book The Physics of Superheroes. It is truly a treat to watch him speak, and the talk is totally free and open to the public, so drop in if you can!Although he wasn't the first to point this out, one of my favorite tidbits in Kakalios' book is the explanation of why Lois Lane would still die if Superman tried.. Read more »

Warning: loss of digits can be expected

A funny thing happened on the way to the physics demo. I thought I lost my finger. There was blood everywhere. I was in excruciating pain.Before I get ahead of myself, let me assure you that in this instance my calamity had nothing to do with liquid nitrogen. Rather, the perpetrators were a busted fire extinguisher and inexperienced personnel. I wont name names, but you can guess that the first letter of the first name of the staff member was A.So from the top  it was a clear and beautiful d.. Read more »