Popular Physics
In this paper we analyse tiebreak results from some tennis players in order to investigate whether we are able to identify some strategy in this crucial moment of the game. We compared the observed results with a binomial distribution…
The fermi paradox uses an appeal to the mediocrity principle to make it seem counter-intuitive that humanity has not been contacted by extraterrestrial intelligence. A numerical, statistical analysis was conducted to determine whether this…
The article discusses the demarcation problem; how to distinguish between science and pseudoscience. It then examines the string theory under various demarcation criteria to conclude that string theory cannot be considered as science.
In classes on cosmology, students are often told that photons stretch as space expands, but just how physical is this picture? Does space really expand? In this article, we explore the notion of the redshift of light with Einstein's general…
Igniting cornstarch powder is a classic physics demonstration that showcases the rapid conduction of heat for a material in which the surface area is greater than the volume of its constituent particles. Including such a demonstration in a…
The time it takes to fall down a tunnel through the center of the Earth to the other side takes approximately 42 minutes, but only when given several simplifying assumptions: a uniform density Earth; a gravitational field that varies…
It has been argued that self-replicating robotic probes could spread to all stars of our galaxy within a timespan that is tiny on cosmological scales, even if they travel well below the speed of light. The apparent absence of such von…
Rising interest in Mars colonization from both private and public sectors necessitates a renewed discussion about sovereignty in space. The non-appropriation principle of the Outer Space Treaty currently prohibits any sovereign claims to…
The so-called Fermi paradox claims that if technological life existed anywhere else, we would see evidence of its visits to Earth-and since we do not, such life does not exist, or some special explanation is needed. Enrico Fermi, however,…
In this short presentation, we address two somewhat separate issues. The first one deals with the establishment (vs discovery) of what we call "physical laws". The discussion runs on a "successive approximations" approach, suited to our own…
This research implements a design for the control of a rotatable stabiliser which, it is proposed, might augment, or fully replace, the conventional control mechanisms for pitch and yaw in certain types of aircraft. The anticipated…
The physics of gravitational wave and its detection in the recent experiment by the LIGO collaboration is discussed in simple terms for a general audience. The main article is devoid of any mathematics, but an appendix is included for…
Here I indulge in wide-ranging speculations on the shape of physics, and technology closely related to physics, over the next one hundred years. Themes include the many faces of unification, the re-imagining of quantum theory, and new forms…
I fumetti, come i film, spesso utilizzano idee scientifiche "fantasiose". Non ci riferiamo qui alla violazione implicita delle leggi della fisica, cosa permessa in un mondo di fantasia, quanto piuttosto all'uso di spiegazioni fisiche errate…
In this paper, for the first time, there is comprehensively tackling the problem of biomechanical optimization of a sport of situation such as judo. Starting from the optimization of more simple sports, optimization of this kind of complex…
Thanks to a technique that reveals galaxies in 3D, astronomers can now show that many galaxies have been wrongly classified. Davor Krajnovi\'c argues that the classification scheme proposed 85 years ago by Edwin Hubble now needs to be…
We present here the European project SciCaf\'e - networking of science caf\'es in Europe and neighboring countries, and the contributions of the CSDC-Caff\`e Scienza partner in Florence, Itay.
Plain Awful is an imaginary valley on the Andes populated by a highly-imitative, cubical people for which the most criminal offence is to exhibit round objects. The duck family (Scrooge, Donald and nephews) are teaming against Scrooge's…
That water expands when freezing is a well-known fact, and it is at the basis of an experiment that is often involuntary performed with beer bottles in freezers. But why does the water behave this way? And, more difficult, how can one…
In British English, the term "hard cash" refers to the form of payment using coins or bill, rather than cheques or credit or money transfer. In American English, it is often prefixed by the adjective "cold". On the contrary, in Italian the…