Popular Physics
We investigated the release angle that maximises the distance attained in a long soccer throw-in. One male soccer player performed maximum-effort throws using release angles of between 10 and 60 degrees, and the throws were analysed using…
Biological, linguistic, sociological and economical applications of statistical physics are reviewed here. They have been made on a variety of computers over a dozen years, not only at the NIC computers. A longer description can be found in…
I introduce the Fermi Paradox and some of its solutions. Then I present my own solution which includes two proposals called the Subanthropic Principle and the Undetectability Conjecture. After discussing some consequences of this solution,…
A human creates an image basing on the information delivered by photons that arrived at his retina simultaneously. Due to finite and constant velocity of light these photons left the moving body at different times, since not all points of…
I survey motivations for education and outreach initiatives in the American context and explore the value of communicating physics for physicists and for the wider society. I describe the roles of large institutions, professional…
In this expository article we describe the attempt of defining cosmological singularities and we discuss their meaning in classical and quantum cosmology.
A recent paper by Hsu & Zee (physics/0510102) suggests that if a Creator wanted to leave a message for us, and she wanted it to be decipherable to all sentient beings, then she would place it on the most cosmic of all billboards, the Cosmic…
We present a fluid-dynamic model for the simulation of urban traffic networks with road sections of different lengths and capacities. The model allows one to efficiently simulate the transitions between free and congested traffic, taking…
Moderated by a director, laymen and students are encouraged to assume the role of quanta and enact a quantum cryptographic protocol. The performance is based on a generalized urn model capable of reproducing complementarity even for…
The basic ingredients of the discovery creativity is presented. Understanding, problem solving, heuristics, computer thinking, technology and physics, and so on. We present some discoveries from the viewpoint of creativity. The Dirac…
Conventional thinking says the universe is infinite. But it could be finite and relatively small, merely giving the illusion of a greater one, like a hall of mirrors. Recent astronomical measurements add support to a finite space with a…
In this article the current understanding of fundamental particles and their interactions is presented for the interested non-specialist, by adopting a semi-historical path. A discussion on the unresolved problems is also presented.
We show that any second order linear ordinary diffrential equation with constant coefficients (including the damped and undumped harmonic oscillator equation) admits an exact discretization, i.e., there exists a difference equation whose…
Public lecture given at The Fields Institute, June 2, 2005.
The similarity in fractal dimensions of paint ``blobs'' in samples of gestural expressionist art implies that these pigment structures are statistically indistinguishable from one another. This result suggests that such dimensions cannot be…
We provided an introduction to transition state theory and the connections it provides between atomic and celestial physics. We include brief discussions of historical background, recent applications in space mission design, and current…
This short encyclopedia article, reviewing current information on neutron stars, is intended for a broad scientific audience.
This is a semipopular introduction to the Special and General Theory of Relativity, with special emphasis on the geometrical aspects of both theories and their physical implications.
We have performed angle-resolved measurements of spontaneous-emission spectra from laser dyes and quantum dots in opal and inverse opal photonic crystals. Pronounced directional dependencies of the emission spectra are observed: angular…
Stephen Hawking's recent concession that black holes do not irretrievably eradicate information after all has garnered much attention. It is refreshing to see the public focused, if just for a moment, on an important conundrum that has…