Last year, Sam Hight and I made a collection of videos on tackling the 2012 Scholarship Physics exam. Well, to be precise, Sam did the videoing, editing, and distribution, and I just did the exam. The key thing, though, was that I did the exam 'live'. I was seeing the questions for the first time. […]
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When stationary is fast
One of the great lines on the cult BBC show 'Red Dwarf' goes (approximately, from memory) like this: Can't you go any faster, like so we're not being overtaken by stationary objects? I'm sure my youngest sister would be able to correct the wording, and tell me immediately which episode it's from, who says it […]
Continue readingThe earth’s magnetic field: much more complicated than you might think
At the recent NZ Institute of Physics conference, we were treated to a wonderful description of the earth's magnetic proceses, by Gillian Turner. What makes up the earth's magnetic field? What effect does it have? How is it changing? At first glance the magnetic field of the earth is pretty straightforward. There's a magnetic north […]
Continue readingVersion control
I’ve commented before that there are a lot of skills that our science graduates need to have, that don’t get explicitly taught at university. That’s because they don’t neatly fit into compartmentalized degree courses where the structure is dictated by technical knowledge. So things such as how to give a half-decent presentation, how to keep […]
Continue readingDishwasher dynamics
How long does it take you to load the dishwasher? Placing all those tricky-shaped objects in position to maintain the perfect balance between getting the maximum numbers of objects into the machine and placing them so that they clean optimally. Most likely, less time than it takes to load ours. This isn’t because it’s a […]
Continue readingQuantum mechanics: Reality is back
With an exam imminent, I’ve had a queue of students outside my door wanting help with their quantum mechanics. This semester, they’ve come across the Schrodinger equation and the wavefunction for the first time and, unsurprisingly, some are struggling to grasp it. "But what IS the wavefunction?", they say. "How do you derive the Schrodinger […]
Continue readingIs maths real?
A friend has just started a Bachelor of Arts degree here at Waikato. As part of her first year study, she’s chosen to do a Philosophy paper. Apparently, one of the questions that has been posed, is "Is maths real?". Well, what is real? You certainly can’t put ‘maths’ in a box and give it […]
Continue readingDon’t underestimate the estimate
A few weeks ago we had a small, informal competition in the department – guess the maximum gradient on one of the roads on campus. I think the motivation for this this small stretch of hill (or what passes for a hill here in Hamilton) was going to be used as part of a dynamics […]
Continue readingMega- and nano-everything
While generally speaking I’m very pleased to hear physics words appear in everyday conversation, I would prefer for them to be used approximately correctly. ‘Exponentially‘ is a case in point – it gets used for something that keeps getting bigger, regardless of how exponential it really is. So, while ‘nanotechnology’ is a good word to […]
Continue readingShock fronts: literature and surfing
One of baby Benjamin’s books has a storyline that goes like this. (Not wishing to fall foul of the Copyright Act I shall not quote directly from it – any sensible quote is about 10% or greater of the work!) There’s an animal that’s being chased by another animal. This second animal is being chased […]
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