Popular Physics
The Higgs boson was predicted in 1964 by British physicist Peter Higgs. The Higgs is the key to explain the origin of the mass of other elementary particles of Nature. However, only with the coming into operation of the LHC, in 2008, there…
In the light of current scientific assessments of human-induced climate change, we investigate an experimental model to inform how resource-use strategies may influence interplanetary and interstellar colonisation by intelligent…
This white paper is an explanation of Ben and Dave's TARDIS time machine, written for laypeople who are interested in time travel, but have no technical knowledge of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. The first part of this paper is…
One of the highlights of 2012 in physics is related to two papers, published by the ATLAS and the CMS Collaborations, that announced the discovery of at least one new particle in pp collisions at CERN LHC. At least one of the properties of…
In Hesiod's calendar, circa 8th century BCE, the harvest times of cereals were indicated by the heliacal rising of Pleiades (harvest) and by that of Orion (thresh). We tried to verify which risings and settings of the brightest stars could…
Many hypotheses have been raised to explain the famous Fermi paradox. One of them is that self-replicating probes could have explored the whole Galaxy, including our Solar System, and that they are still to be detected. In this scenario, it…
In the research field on the "images of scientists" that appear in fictional literature, we focus on a set of tales produced by students of secondary school. Our aim is to connect some traits of the stereotypical scientist that appear in…
In Moby Dick, Herman Melville wondered how - or what - whales see with eyes on opposite sides of their heads. "It is plain that he can never see an object which is exactly ahead... Is his brain so much more comprehensive, combining and…
Gravitation, according to General Relativity, is an attribute of space-time's geometry and hence not a force in the Newtonian sense. This is a consequence of Einstein's equivalence principle, which so far passed all experimental tests with…
Many time-trial and triathlon bicycle races take place on relatively flat, closed-circuit courses. In the absence of hills, riding-speed is limited almost solely by aerodynamic drag; consequently, winds can have a big effect on elapsed…
There exists one experimental result that cannot be explained by the Standard Model (SM), the current theoretical framework for particle physics: non-zero masses for the neutrinos (elementary particles travelling close to light speed,…
Data from the Planck satellite imply new dates for the major eras of the universe. The era of radiation ended 50,150 years after inflation and the era of matter 10.31 billion years after inflation or 3.51 billion years ago.
I examine contemporary work in fluids in motion to demonstrate strong connections between art, science and technology. In one burgeoning domain, falling liquid drops impacting solid substrates or pools it is valuable to compare how artists…
This is a Magistralis Lectio held in Naples the October 28 2010, at 150 anniversary of Birth of Jigoro Kano Judo Founding Father, on Judo History, History of Biomechanics and Judo biomechanics. IN ITALIAN
Feedback between training and competition should be considered in athletic training.The aim of the study was contemporary coaching tendencies in women s and men s judo with particular focus on a biomechanical classification of throws and…
In this second paper on match analysis, we analyze in deep the competition steps showing the evolution of this tool at National Federation level.On the basis of our,first classification. Furthermore, it is the most important source of…
Many university texts on Mechanics deal with the problem of the effect of the air drag force, using as example the slowing down of a parachute. Hardly no one discuss what happens when the drag force is proportional to both $u$ and $u^2$. In…
In this work we present a simple way to get Macro photography (enlarged photographs) using a tablet or phone. We initially discuss the technique, which is essentially the accommodation of a drop of water on the camera lens. Next, we explore…
The discovery of many particles, especially in the 50's, when the firsts accelerators appeared, caused the searching for a model that would describe in a simple form the whole of known particles. The Quark Model, based in the mathematical…
Using a digital camera (Sony DSC-S75) in its video mode and a smartphone (Samsung GT-N700) equipped with an acceleration sensor, observation of a uniform circular motion of a toy train (Thomas & Friends, Player World, CCF No. 2277-13) is…