科普物理
In this paper, the rules of Niel's Chess are adapted to the game of Xiangqi, following the idea that the River and the Palaces play an important role in restricting and enabling chess pieces in their movements.
Axions are an increasingly popular topic in theoretical physics, and are sparking a global experimental effort. In the following I review the motivations for the existence of axions, the theories underlying them, and the methods to search…
In this work, we consider the spread of a 'civilisation' in an idealised homogeneous isotropic universe where all the planets of interest are habitable. Following a framework that goes beyond the usual idea of percolation, we investigate…
Historically there were two main reasons to assign the 1908 Tunguska event to a spacebody infall: a) newspaper notes about a fall of a meteorite near the town of Kansk (later claimed to be false); b) eyewitnesses reports about seeing…
Astronomers occasionally detect an object having unexpected shape, unexplainable photometry, or unprecedented spectra that are inconsistent with our contemporary knowledge of the universe. Upon careful assessment, many of these anomalies…
A classical two-stranded rope can be made by twisting two identical strands together under strain. Despite being conceptually simple, the contact-equations for helically twisted identical strands have only been solved within the last 20…
The use of facial masks played a pivotal role in combating COVID-19 during the pandemic period, particularly in the absence of vaccines for the disease. This study elucidates how this type of equipment can effectively contain viruses and…
In this essay, I discuss an interdisciplinary science that is just blossoming: that of geo-neutrinos. I begin with a couple of episodes from the history of thought, showing the deep roots of Earth science and its many connections with…
In this article, I discuss the motion of $N$ point masses in non-relativistic mechanics, when the interaction between them is purely the Newtonian gravitational interaction, with $N$ greater than or equal to 2. The dynamical equations of…
In this lecture, intended for a general audience, I describe Schr\"odinger's thought experiment which was designed to show the strange results of extending the formalism of quantum theory, particularly the idea of superposition, beyond the…
This article gives an overview of the new SI and a few details as to how its setting up was achieved. Those interested in the story of how the kilogram was fixed by tying it to the Planck constant can go straight to section five. Otherwise,…
India's journey towards space has been nothing short of remarkable. It began with the establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1969, with the aim of harnessing space technology for national development. Since then,…
Art can be a powerful tool in science engagement efforts to help facilitate learning and public discourse around space and space exploration. The Art of Planetary Science is an annual exhibition combining science and art which aims to help…
The concept of dark matter in the Universe and its components has been discussed in the 1930s by several authors, and in particular by Oort (1932) and Zwicky (1933). However, it is only in the 1970s that the existence of dark matter was…
We present the chiral knife edge rattleback, an alternative version of previously presented systems that exhibit spin inversion. We offer a full treatment of the model using qualitative arguments, analytical solutions as well as numerical…
The Defense Department and NASA are investigating the possibility that aliens are currently surveilling Earth. This aligns with some search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence (SETI) theorists who have concluded that ET's best strategy for…
Permanent magnets are fascinating. They generate magnetic field and act as the key component in compasses, motors, speakers for practical applications. They are also made into magnetic toys for entertainment and education with magical…
We considered the question of how our artificial constructions are visible to advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. Taking the universality of the laws of physics, we found that the maximum distance where the detection is possible is of…
Kiiking is an extreme sport in which athletes alternate between standing and squatting to pump a standing swing till it is inverted and completes a rotation. A minimal model of the sport may be cast in terms of the control of an actively…
I examine the hypothesis that consciousness can be understood as a state of matter, "perceptronium", with distinctive information processing abilities. I explore five basic principles that may distinguish conscious matter from other…