Quantum Physics for Dogs at Jefferson Lab: TOMORROW

I’ve been remiss in my self-promotional duties, but I’m giving a public lecture tomorrow night in Newport News, VA, as part of the Jefferson Lab Science Series. This will be my traditional “What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics” talk, with the sad addition of a slide honoring the late, great Queen of Niskayuna […]

Hyperactive Dogs and Fancy Motorcycles

I’m still in the late stages of an awful cold, but shook it off a bit to write a new conversation with Emmy, the Queen of Niskayuna over at Forbes: “HEY! YOU POODLES! STAY OFFA MY LAWN!” “Emmy! Stop barking!” I sit up. She’s at the gap between the fences, where she can see into […]

How Not to Control the Weather for Your Dog

I’m rooting around in my bag for a pen, and pull out a laser pointer by mistake. Since I’d really prefer not to be grading, I flip it on and shine it on the floor next to the spot where Emmy is half-dozing. She immediately leaps up (she’s pretty spry for a dog of 12…), […]

Talking physics with Emmy

Ask Emmy Questions

The blog is recovering from the transition to WordPress, but I’m still not fully confident in it. So We’ll turn to another corner of the social media universe for my procrastinatory needs this morning: Having Emmy answer physics questions on Twitter. The same deal as when we’ve done this before: If you’ve got a physics […]

How to Have My Dog Teach You Physics

“Hey, dude,” the dog says, looking concerned. “We need to talk.” “Yeah? What’s up?” “Look, it’s great that you’re transcribing the human puppy’s stories into Twitter and all, but I’m feeling left out. I’ve got my own Twitter account and all, but you hardly ever type any of my tweets any more. I have to […]

Looking for the Bacon Boson

I’m grading exam papers at the dining room table when Emmy trots in. “Hey, dude,” she says. “Where do we keep the superconducting wire?” I’m not really paying attention, so I start to answer before I understand the question. “Hmm? Wire is in the basement, next to the–wait, what?” “The superconducting wire. Where do we […]

Teleportation of Toddler Toys

Today is the official release date for the paperback edition of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, so I wanted to write up something cool about quantum physics to mark the occasion. I looked around the house for inspiration, and most of what we have lying around the house is SteelyKid’s toys. Thus, I […]

Evil Squirrels from Extra Dimensions

It’s been a very long day, so I’m lying on the couch watching “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN. They’re having a boring conversation about baseball, and I’m just drifting off into a pleasant doze when: “Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake! Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!“ I jolt awake. “What are you barking at?!?” I yell at the […]

The Bozo Condensate

I’m standing in the kitchen, sipping tea and watching snow blowing across the back yard. It’s cold enough that the digital thermometer has stopped working, which puts it in the single digits Fahrenheit. I’m not looking forward to walking the dog in this. “Pretty cold, dude,” she says. “Yeah,” I say. “It’s cold, all right.” […]