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Tag archives: science and society
US candidates on science policy, your satellite idea could bag a share in £50,000
No denying: Democratic Party candidate Elizabeth Moro. (Courtesy: Elizabeth Moro)
By Hamish Johnston
The Science Debate organization sent out questions about science policy to candidates in the 2018 US elections and the answers are in (at least some of them). Prospective US representatives, senators and state governors were queried on 10 topics ranging from climate change to the importance of science to American prosperity.
James Henry, a Democratic Party candidate in Florida, pointed out: “If you look at your monthly credit card statement and remember the kinds of products and services you spent your money on recently, many of the items purchased probably did not even exist 10 or 20 years ago.” This, he added, is why “It is critical that the government encourage a proactive approach to technology”.
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World’s smallest Christmas card and a fusion Christmas number one
By Hamish Johnston
We are winding down for Christmas here at Physics World and taking a well-deserved break before we launch into 2018.
Over the next week or so, stay tuned for festive content including a comic caption competition on Christmas Day that is inspired by this year’s Nobel prize.
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A rockin’ good milkshake, a telescope that wants to be the next Taj Mahal
Sounds tasty: the Rock Music Milkshake Mixer uses sound waves to create a milkshake.
By Matin Durrani and Hamish Johnston
Film fans will well remember the opening scene from Back to the Future, in which Marty McFly (played by Michael J Fox) is thrown across a room by a massive sound wave from an enormous guitar amp. It’s more science fiction than science fact, but to illustrate the impact that sound can have on everyday life, staff at EngineeringUK have come up with something really rather clever. To drum up interest in next year’s science-careers show The Big Bang Fair, which is to be held in March in Birmingham, UK, they’ve built what they dub a “Rock Music Milkshake Mixer”.
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Aldrin’s faces for Trump, tunnels to the underworld, physics collides with art
By Sarah Tesh
Buzz Aldrin pulled some spectacular facial expressions during a speech by Donald Trump this week. The President of the United States was announcing his executive order to revive the US National Space Council. During points of Trump’s rather rambling speech, the Apollo 11 astronaut looked a combination of unimpressed, confused and bored. But while he may be bemused by the president’s chatter (as many are), he posted a positive Tweet about the executive order, saying, “I’m happy that space is getting the attention it needs to move us forward to committing to plans to get back to the Moon & on to Mars #GYATM.”
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A particle physics love song, NASA’s space Olympics, wobbling suitcases
By Sarah Tesh
If any physicist couples out there are struggling to find a first-dance song for their wedding, CERN has just come up with the perfect solution. US communications manager Sarah Charley teamed up with grad students Jess Heilman and Tom Perry to produce a particle-physics parody of Howie Day’s song “Collide”. Day came across their music video on Twitter and asked to visit CERN – “I figured it was a long shot, but why not?” The project spiralled from there, leading to Day re-recording the song and filming a new video that features him playing guitar in the LHC tunnel and CERN scientists dancing in their labs.
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Chicken sandwich goes stratospheric, socks for space, dressmakers have needle-sharp vision
Space sandwich: a Zinger floats high above Earth. (Courtesy: KFC)
By Sarah Tesh and Hamish Johnston
If you could put anything on a high-altitude balloon, what would it be? World View Enterprises has opted for a spicy chicken sandwich. The company plans to run balloon excursions to the stratosphere and on 21 June it will make its debut voyage carrying a Zinger sandwich from Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) – but with no-one on board to eat it. According to the New York Times the flight is tied in with KFC’s current space-based advertising campaign and the sandwich will spend at least four days in the stratosphere. As well as planning to charge tourists $75,000 per person for a ride, World View Enterprises says that its balloons could also be used to create an early warning system for tornadoes. (more…)
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Identifying fingerprints, attractive scientists, what physics students should know
Easily recognized: could you do fingerprint analysis? (CC BY 3.0 / Frettie)
By Hamish Johnston
Do you have the pattern-matching skills needed for identifying fingerprints? If so, researchers at National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US want to hear from you. They have put together a visual quiz that tests your ability to “focus on minute visual details that would leave most people cross-eyed”. You can try the test here.
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Cat-chy quantum song, science TV resurrected, $800,000 textbook, desk traffic lights
By Sarah Tesh
I never realized it until now, but my life was missing a song about Schrödinger’s cat. Well, theoretical physicist, science writer and now singer/song writer Sabine Hossenfelder has come to the rescue with a song about quantum states. This is her second music video done in collaboration artists Apostolos Vasilidis and Timo Alho. The rather cat-chy tune not only includes lyrics about quantum entanglement, Boltzmann brains and the multiverse, but also fits in references to Star Trek and The Matrix. In her BackReaction blog, Hossenfelder says, “If you think this one’s heavy on the nerdism, wait for the next.” We’re looking forward to it!
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Cassini’s emotional countdown, Steve the light show, shooting hoops ‘granny style’
By Sarah Tesh
This week has seen the beginning of Cassini’s Grand Finale. The rather dramatically named final mission for the NASA spacecraft involves 22 dives between Saturn and its surrounding rings. Once complete, Cassini will crash into the planet’s atmosphere in what the scientists hope will be a flurry of data gathering. The spacecraft has already sent back stunning images of storms in Saturn’s atmosphere from its first dive on 26 April. After 20 years since its launch, the mission to Saturn’s system has been a masterclass in space exploration, and NASA highlights the best bits in this theatrical video. The short film, reminiscent of Star Trek, could be considered a bit cheesy, but it’s hard not to form an emotional attachment to NASA’s loyal Cassini as you join in the countdown to its final demise.
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Snooker cues, negative mass, apps for waiting and CERN croissants
By Sarah Tesh
With the World Snooker Championship taking place at the moment, it’s that time of year when those of us who are usually snookered by the game are suddenly in its pockets. Right on cue, Phil Sutton from Loughborough University in the UK helps bridge the gap between science and snooker. In his video big break, he looks at why players use chalk on their cue tips. Interestingly, there is a right way to help you spin out a 147 and a wrong way that could leave you pocketing the white.
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