Physics
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Ask around what fundamental physics is, where the cutting edge of profound, foundational science is investigated, and you will most likely hear the Large Hadron Collider being mentioned, also referred to as Large Hype Constructor (LHC), which tries to find the so called “God particle” and super-symmetry. String theory will also be mentioned. Very few will tell you about comparatively dirt cheap laser labs that explore quantum entanglement.
What is strange about this? In a certain sense nothing. LHC and high energy particle physics in general are huge budget endeavors* complete with a…
In two weeks I will be talking at TEDx Flanders, in the magnificent theatre of the Flemish Opera of Antwerp, Belgium. I can't wait, of course, and I have prepared a presentation which is hopefully going to be digestible, but I would hope enjoyable, for the thousand total outsiders who will listen to it in-between a couple dozen other extremely interesting performances and talks. The program is indeed quite diverse and exciting, and the event will last the full day of Saturday, Sept. 24th.
Adding spice to the whole thing, I will not be alone on stage, but I will be sharing it with my friend,…
I enjoyed a lot reading a "discussion" prepared by Maury Goodman on the value of "confidence level", discovery thresholds, and what physicists believe or not. If you are a HEP physicist and you want to widen your horizons on the value of statistical claims in experimental results, you are bound to read it. But you might find it thought-provoking and enlightening even if you are a layman, provided you can use three neurons in a row.
A few random excerpts should convince you to read the whole piece:
Manjib: No reasonable high energy physics will believe a two sigma effect.
Karana: …
The Maxwell equations govern light, electricity and magnetism as a trinity. The Big Goal for the next five weeks is to understand my variations on those equations. I want readers to see both the forest and the trees, the planet and the subatomic particles, the math behind the curtain.
Many may fear they don't have the math chops to follow this five week march. The names of the players and their jobs will be explained. There is repetition in this process which may make the steps start to sound familiar. After three weeks, the diligent reader will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the…
A few years back, in my spare time, I had attempted to calculate the relativistic mass of a rotating disc as measured by a reference frame fixed at its center.
I used only equations of special relativity, since the observer was at rest.
I obtained the following: If the disc has a rest mass of M0 and radius R, then the highest angular speed 'w' attainable is given by 'wR=c'. Also, at this rotational speed, the relativistic mass of the disc is 2M0. The rim of the disc can actually travel with a speed equal to c!! However now, I am a little sceptical about the simplicity of my calculations.…
The diffusion of advanced graphical tools that we have witnessed in the course of the last two decades has caused a corresponding evolution in the way physicists display their data. True, there still exist pockets of resistence here and there; but these are usually due to old farts who are unwilling to learn the new tricks. To them the old cynical sentence by Max Planck unfortunately applies, and it can be paraphrased as follows:
"A new data display tool does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them use it, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation…
Asking a specific question which has a specific answer is the sign of fertile soil instead of another shovel full of fertilizer. One question leads to variations on that query. Even dull looking questions can be informative. Snarky puzzle answers usually has four problems, but the fifth installment has a bonus fifth problem.
Aug. 1,2011: Shot in the Head
Snarky Puzzle
Develop a small, experimental film of all this spin stuff. The current is scurrying along the z axis, so let it run from (-1, 0, 0, -0.1) to (1, 0, 0, 0.1) [at 1/10 the speed of light]. Pick an arbitrary point out in the xy…
A hadron collider is a really nice toy to play with. Sometimes when I look at all those scientists busying themselves with the design, the construction, and the operation of the Large Hadron Collider and its experiments, as well as the analysis of the produced data, all I see are kids who play with their toys - bigger toys, as big as possible in fact, because their craving is always growing and cannot be satiated.
I of course see myself that way, too. To me my job is a game -well, I see my life that way too! But I am divagating into philosophical observations which deserve another…
Note: I have discussed today's topic in one of my best articles here some time ago, and I also gave even more technical insight in another piece. I decided to revisit the topic once more under the stimulus of a online HEP magazine, which is going to feature a text of mine soon. They do not care if I use the same text here too, so you get to read it here first.A dangerous beast is hiding in today's searches for new physics -or even for "old" physics, such as the Higgs boson- at the Large Hadron Collider. It is called "Look-Elsewhere Effect", LEE for insiders. What is it, and why should you…
Entropic gravity is back in the news. Various science blogs again carry headlines dealing with entropic gravity. This time round, the reports are less favorable towards the idea of gravity being entropic, with headlines like Experiments Show Gravity Is Not an Emergent Phenomenon screaming for attention.
Sounds like a death stab to Erik Verlinde's brainchild, right?
What we see happening here is the good old well-established way in which science progresses. A scientist publishes a wild idea. Some other scientists become enthusiastic, others less so. The result is that a group of researchers…