If there’s one thing that is likely to promote disharmony amongst the physics community, its the use for the f-word. That’s ‘f’ as in ‘fugal’, as in centrifugal. Now, part of me thinks I should reconsider before writing this entry, but I have recently read a particularly unhelpful piece on the internet written by a […]
Continue readingYear: 2008
How far can I see?
Yes, I know the answer is an awful long way (i.e. to some quite distant galaxies), but I specifically mean in the context of how far can I see as I go up in altitude? From my third-floor office window in Hamilton I can easily see the 50 km to the top of Te Aroha […]
Continue readingTaking physics one step too far
I read in a popular physics magazine that a guy has had an image of Stephen Hawking tatooed on his leg, and it has won an award for the tatooist. Oh dear.
Continue readingIn the sun
When you think of solar power, you probably think of solar panels on your roof, or those little solar cells on your calculator. But it doesn’t have tp be that high-tec. In concentrated solar power schemes, you simply find a large area of land in the middle of a sunny area (e.g Arizona, Spain, Australia…) […]
Continue readingZzzzzz
One of the best and worst duties of a scientist is to go to international conferences. It’s one of the best duties because you get to go overseas at relatively little cost to yourself (in my immediate case Adelaide) and enjoy lots of freebies (such as hotel swimming pools, shiraz, expenses-paid meals, more free pens than […]
Continue readingBeam me up…
Instead of enduring hours sitting at airports and in aeroplanes (complete with passengers in front of you who recline their seats forty-eight milliseconds after the fasten seatbelts sign goes out, grrrr), wouldn’t it be nice if Star Trek transporter technology actually existed. Just step onto the pad, select your destination (better check it carefully first), […]
Continue readingBrief pause…
With the conference and holiday season rapidly approaching, blogging might slip a little until the New Year, but I’ll try to keep you up to date with physics of jet engines, baggage check systems, weather.
Continue readingTraffic
I visited a company in Auckland yesterday, which involved negotiating the famous Auckland traffic. Now, I have to say that arriving in Auckland after the rush hour proved a very smart move, and we cruised to our destination without any fuss, but it got me thinking about traffic flow and physics.
Continue readingWater, water everywhere
Yesterday a very politely written letter arrived at the department, addressed to the physicists. I was curious as to what it was, and read it carefully all the way to the word ‘homeopathy’, at which time I began preparing a space for it in the ‘cranky letter’ folder of my filing cabinet. I will spare you […]
Continue readingDon’t try this at home
Have you ever sat in a lecture where an over-enthusiastic lecturer is waving his arms around excitedly, forgetting he is holding a laser pointer, and wondered what would happen if he accidently shone the beam into your eyes? Surely, you might think, the makers of laser pointers have anticipated such things. Well, last week I attended […]
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