As I said, General Relativity in all its glory is an impenetrable wall of mathematics such that, if you ever have the misfortune to come across someone who says they understand it, your best bet is to offer a slight smile and back away carefully. Do not let anyone try to lecture you in it, […]
Continue readingFollowing from my brief comment last time about 2005 being Einstein year, I wonder if you, like me, have ever thought why it is that Einstein is so famous. I mean, just about everyone you will meet on the street will recognise a photo of Albert Einstein, but how many would recognise (say) Charles Darwin […]
Continue readingI’ve recently been asked to participate in a ‘cafe scientifique’ event looking at the relative achievements of Darwin and Galileo. For those who don’t know, 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, and the 150th of the publication of ‘Origin of the Species’ (how very thoughtful it was of him to arrange that both […]
Continue readingFollowing on from the last entry, another example of symmetry breaking on the roads is the stop-start kind of traffic jam that forms in heavy traffic on a motorway. When sitting in a traffic jam caused by ‘sheer weight of traffic’ (affectionately known as SWOT to traffic-analysts) you might, like me, have been inclinded to think […]
Continue readingI spent the weekend (plus a couple of other days) at Lake Waikaremoana, enjoying the bush and the scorching sunshine (yes, evern in Te Urewera). There’s not a lot of physics that goes on there; maybe that’s why it is so relaxing, with the science focussed towards earth-science (I hope that rock doesn’t fall on us) […]
Continue readingThis story might be apocryphal; I haven’t been able to verify it, but it is certainly plausible. Mount Egmont National Park forms almost a perfect circle around Mount Taranaki. Given its status, its bush remains intact, unlike the rest of Taranaki. You get a great view of this dark green circle with a mountain poking […]
Continue readingThis entry has nothing to do with physics, unless you count the vague link between the subject and satellite imagery. Do forgive me this diversion, which I find interesting and shocking. At Te Papa Tongarewa, there is a room that is empty, save for a huge (14 metre-long) image of New Zealand on the floor. […]
Continue readingI chose to celebrate Auckland Anniversary by visiting Wellington. (Naturally enough.) No surcharges on the coffee there. It was my first visit to the capital as a tourist, and as you might expect I did some of the usual touristy things like Te Papa, Parliament, and the cable car. The cable car is a real […]
Continue readingWater isn’t the only fluid that’s in everyday experience. Air is as well – the word can apply to either a liquid or a gas. And things moving in air can behave pretty oddly too. I think the best example is an aerofoil – that relies the fact that a fluid’s pressure reduces as it […]
Continue readingImagine, if your mind can cope with it, Michael Phelps, decked in his speedos, about to dive into a pool of golden syrup. If the thought isn’t too much for you to cope with, now ask yourself what stroke he should swim to get to the other end as quickly as possible. As explained in […]
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