Category Archives: physics

Twisted Language in Physics

Posted on 2011-06-22 by alan

From the discussion in Quantum Diaries, it seems that helicity is a property of motion and chirality a property of shape (where, in the case of an elementary particle, this might be represented by something like the shape of a level … Continue reading →

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Christopher Norris Defends Philosophy

Posted on 2011-02-20 by alan

Christopher Norris has written an article in Philosophy Now defending the Philosophy of Science from allegations of its irrelevance by scientists (most recently Stephen Hawking for example).  Norris alleges the existence of “scientists’ need to philosophize and their proneness to … Continue reading →

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Sunrise and Sunset at Solstices

Posted on 2011-01-03 by alan

It is curious that the days of shortest and longest periods of sunlight (which just about everyone knows are due to the tilt of the earth’s spin axis relative to the plane of its orbit)  are not everywhere the same … Continue reading →

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Miraculous Magnetic Clowns

Posted on 2010-11-29 by alan

James McGirk, writing in 3quarksdaily, repeats the widely stated claim that the Insane Clown Posse display inexcusable ignorance when they claim, in their song ‘Miracles’, to be mystified by magnets. One line in particular snagged the world’s attention: “Water, fire, … Continue reading →

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Back From the Future

Posted on 2010-08-29 by alan

An article in DISCOVER Magazine discusses an apparent influence of the decision to make later measurements on the results of earlier ones. But then it turns out that the effect persists even when the later measurement is not recorded. Such … Continue reading →

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A Quantum Embarrassment to Scientific American

Posted on 2009-03-14 by alan

The latest Scientific American lead article Was Einstein Wrong?: A Quantum Threat to Special Relativity is an odd duck. It almost (but never quite) does a fair job of describing some quite challenging aspects of quantum mechanics and its relation … Continue reading →

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