A Historical ExperimentIn 1909, physics pioneers Robert Millikan (1868-1953) and Harvey Fletcher (1884-1981) performed an experiment that would ultimately enable them to determine one of the most fundamental of all physical constants: the elementary electric charge, i.e. the electric charge of an individual electron – the constant e. Continue reading Revisiting the Millikan Experiment – What’s in an Oil Drop?
The Latest Physics Nobel Prize LaureateThe Physics Nobel Prize was awarded on 8 October 2013 to Edinburgh University-based scientist Peter Higgs for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism crucial to our understanding of the origin of everything…
At the end of the 19th century, many people considered Physics as the foremost of sciences. Perhaps chemical engineer Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) saw it in this way too, and that is why Physics was the first prize area which he did mention in his will. Continue reading Physics Nobel Prize 2013: Scotland’s Own Peter Higgs
Describing The World Dynamics So FarAccording to the current understanding of Physics, there is as yet no uniform field theory. No all-encompassing well-rounded theory that would enable all the known fundamental forces and elementary particles to fit neatly into one simple model, and to be expressed in terms of a single field.
And since there is no accepted unified field theory, it remains an open line of research. Canadian graduate student Timothy Blais decided to explore the idea and promote his findings in a way that really rocks… ♫ Continue reading Strings + A Capella = “Bohemian Gravity”?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just released its latest summary of the science behind human-caused climate change or, to use its catchy official title, the IPCC Working Group 1 Fifth Assessment Report Summary for Policy Makers – Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis.
The document summary is 36 pages long. The report includes 14 chapters and a dizzying amount of graphs, data and figures. Here are just a few… Continue reading IPCC 2013 Stockholm – Latest Findings on Climate Change
The Leidenfrost effect is a phenomenon in which a liquid, brought in near contact with a mass significantly hotter than the liquid’s own boiling point, produces a thin vapour layer. This insulating vapour layer keeps liquid from boiling rapidly. Continue reading Heat Race Across a Maze with the Leidenfrost Effect
Colour Perception – The Eye of the BeholderSeeing the World in glorious colours is central to our lives. Colours shape the way we behave. They affect our mood and our perception. They can influence the way we interact and respond to social and environmental stimuli, whether we are directly aware of it, or through subliminal awareness of our external world. Again, it is one of those things that most people take for granted in everyday life.
Colour perception is all subjective. Colours only exist when three components are present: a viewer, an object, and light. Continue reading Colour Perception and Retinal Neurons – Attempting to Map the Human Brain
Scientists are currently exploring the concept of vacuum instability. What does this mean? Well, they believe there is a chance that… Billions of years from now, a new universe could open up into the present one and replace it. It all depends on some very precise numbers related to the Higgs boson particle that researchers are currently trying to pin down.
If the calculation on vacuum instability holds, it would revive the old idea that the ‘Big Bang’ Universe we can observe today, is merely the latest version in a permanent cycle of events… Continue reading Why the Universe may be Inherently Unstable
The Einstein Field Equations of General Relativity are vast and complex, but they can be written with deceptive simplicity. Using modern notation, the field equations can be formulated as
Scottish Downpours Tropical-StyleNear-tropical thunderous rain downpours have succeeded the balmy high temperatures that summer has brought to Glasgow of late. Deep black skies. Thunderbolts. Lightning. (♫ Very, very frightening! Galileo Galileo… ♫) Unusual conditions even for a very wet Scotland. Continue reading Tropical Thunderstorms in Glasgow: The Tale of the Atmospheric River
What Do Gargamelle and Picasso Have in Common?Nope. Nothing to do with the arch-nemesis of the Smurfs or with an avant-garde artistic masterpiece, unlike the top picture appears to suggest… Actually, the Gargamelle on the left is at CERN and takes its name after the giantess in the works of satirist François Rabelais: she was Gargantua’s mother! The Gargamelle is a historical ‘bubble chamber’ detector however… Continue reading Secrets of the Bubble Chamber
Glasgow NaturallyGlasgow Science Festival 2013 begins today with a busy schedule of events for all ages!! Highlights include “Science Sunday”, a free event taking place at the University of Glasgow, Hunter Halls on June 9th between the times of 10:00 and 16:00. Continue reading The Glasgow Science Festival 2013 Starts Today. Naturally!
6 Short Videos about the Philosophy of Maths and ScienceThe Open University has created a series of 6 short animated iTunes videos about the Philosophy behind Maths and Science. Continue reading 60-Second Adventures in Thought
IBM researchers currently hold the Guinness World Record for the ‘World Smallest Stop-Motion Film’ after creating a short film about a boy and his ball, by manipulating single atoms. Continue reading A Boy and His Atom
One of a Rare Status UpdateApparently, the phrase “once in a blue moon”, in the sense of something that occurs very rarely, dates back to 1824. I will check this out as soon as I have time… Continue reading Once in a Blue Moon…
Hunting For The God ParticleToday, Thursday 14th March 2013. Only last year, the world of Particle Physics research was getting excited among rumours and speculation that the hunt for the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was finally over, following the news that a Higgs-like particle had been identified in July. Continue reading It’s a Higgs!
Our planet is surrounded by layers of gas, the ‘atmosphere’, maintained around it by the very gravitational attraction of the Earth. An important part of the atmosphere that we use to breathe and that plants use in photosynthesis is the ‘air’. Continue reading Earth’s Atmosphere
12 Short Videos about the Physics of the CosmosThe Open University has teamed up with “geek chic” comedian David Mitchell to release a series of 12 short animated YouTube videos about the Physics of the Cosmos: “60-Second Adventures in Astronomy”. A real treat. And it’s educational! If you have only 60 seconds, you can now learn everything we know about matter, energy, life, the Universe and everything…
The Standard Model of Particle Physics is a theory about the electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear interactions, developed throughout the mid-to-late 20th century, as a worldwide collaborative effort. Continue reading The Standard Model
14th October 2012. During his ultimate high-altitude parachute jump, Felix Baumgartner spends approximately 4 minutes and 22 seconds in freefall, at the maximum speed of 1,342 kilometres per hour. Continue reading Fallen from Outer Space…
Physical Constants (SI Units)Avogadro Constant
Bohr Radius
Boltzmann Constant
Charge on an Electron
Gravitational Constant
Magnitude of Acceleration due to Gravity
Permeability of Free Space
Permittivity of Free Space
Speed of Light in a vacuum
Astronomical BeginningsEarly astronomers already make the distinction between stars and planets, as the former remain relatively fixed for centuries, while the latter wander an appreciable amount in a comparatively short time. But that’s not all!
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