Links for 2012-10-19

In which we look at commemorating an important anniversary, an unusual way to publish more articles, one of the best discussions of fraternities and sororities I’ve seen, an article calling for more flexibility in academia, and a bit of political silliness. ———— Emilio Segrè Visual Archives “Niels Bohr’s atomic model has had an immense impact […]

Gandalf Was Wrong: Spectroscopy and The Lord of the Rings

It’s a banner day for science explainer things I wrote, as a piece I wrote has just gone live at Tor.com: Why Gandalf Is Wrong Even as a kid, reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings at the golden age of twelve or so, Gandalf’s response to Saruman never sat well with […]

What’s So Interesting About Single Quantum Systems? Physics Nobel 2012

In which we do a little imaginary Q&A to explain the significance of Tuesday’s Nobel Prize to Dave Wineland and Serge Haroche. ———— I did a quick post Tuesday morning noting that the latest Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to two big names from my corner of the field. This would’ve been a great […]

Congratulations to Dave Wineland, Serge Haroche, and KSC

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics was announced this morning, going to Serge Haroche and Dave Wineland, “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems”. This isn’t a pair that was getting much love from the prognosticators, but they’re an excellent choice. And, in fact, commenter KSC correctly picked Wineland […]