driven to diffraction
One of the coolest things about physics is that the same basic concept can pop up in several seemingly unrelated things — say, a compact …
Optics
polarizing jewelry
Remember "I want my MTV"? Not missing that much anymore, but since moving to West Virginia, I am missing my JTV. JTV – Jewelry television …
i am a camera
It's Halloween! Jen-Luc Piquant has donned her usual vampire costume for the occasion, although she was tempted to dress up as Lady Gaga this year, …
my hair is red, my tires are black and their smoke is white
That particular trait — not being able to sleep when there’s something you can’t figure out — is in my mind the fundamental requirement for being a scientist. I was groggily reading my email Friday and found a request from one of my NASCAR contacts to explain something “simple”: why tires make white smoke, even though the tire is black and the skid marks are black.
why my christmas shopping isn’t done
Most people are scurrying around malls this time of year looking for those last-minute presents. My colleague Yoda, however, got sidetracked during a visit to …
a new wrinkle
"What – did you grow up in a barn?", the Rocket Scientist sighed, rolling his eyes in-between picking up my soda bottle from his table …
candid camera
Shortly after our wedding last fall, I was in Seattle for a conference, and naturally made time to visit with family. Somehow, I got into …
seeing the light
Over at my new blog, Twisted Physics, I wrote about the Telectroscope, a whimsical art installation linking New York City and London, ostensibly via a …
mind the gap
Madrid is home to many marvels of human ingenuity, but among the most striking is a kinetic sculpture by Eusebio Sempere, built entirely of hollow …
the photon has two faces
There was exciting news from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory last week, as researchers announced that they had performed the world's smallest double-slit experiment and …