When I delivered Parts 1 and 2 of the last lecture of Physics 1303 (Introduction to Mechanics) on May 2 and 3, 2022, I had an inkling that these might be my last ever lectures to SMU undergraduates. I prepared them with joy and love and care. It was emotionally wrenching for me to deliver… Continue reading Last Lectures at SMU: Alien Life and the Probability of Life
Category: Physics
Muon Weather and Seasons
Over the winter break, I have picked up my little muon detector data side project that started in the spring term of 2020. A few days ago, I remarked on how I wanted to take account of “weather” in the data – variations around a daily expectation given seasonal conditions – and “seasons” – long-term… Continue reading Muon Weather and Seasons
Muon Weather: Fun with a Muon Detector, Analysis Code, and Physics
I am spending some time playing around with the cosmic ray muon data from an instrument in the SMU Physics Department. That instrument is located in the basement hallway of Fondren Science Building. I already setup a “dashboard” of information derived from the instrument, available here: https://blog.smu.edu/saso/projects/muon-observatory/. If you want to learn more about the… Continue reading Muon Weather: Fun with a Muon Detector, Analysis Code, and Physics
Views from a Blue Dot: Comet Neowise
On Saturday, we took a break from the pandemic to go outside and look for a comet. We live in a Dallas suburb, but one which has grown a lot in 10 years. The skies are not quite as dark as they used to be, but we thought it might be possible to spot and… Continue reading Views from a Blue Dot: Comet Neowise
The Muon: 1970
In 1970, Hall, Lind, and Ristenen (Univ. of Colorado at Boulder) published a paper in the American Journal of Physics (AJP, vol. 38, No. 10) on “A Simplified Muon Lifetime Experiment for the Instructional Laboratory.” Basically, it articulates precisely the experiment at the heart of a similar instrument at SMU. Muons are produced in cosmic… Continue reading The Muon: 1970
What I learned this week
I have really thrown myself into physics, since I am stuck at home (a) because there is a pandemic and (b) because SMU won’t let me on campus until tomorrow (because I was abroad when they ended work-related international travel 2 weeks ago). This has been a grand opportunity. Here are some things I learned… Continue reading What I learned this week
The Joy of the Muon
Muons are a gateway drug. They are just difficult enough to detect that they are really not obvious to humans. They are just easy enough to stop in material that, once you learn to spot them, you want to stop them and watch them do what they do. What do muons do? They decay. In… Continue reading The Joy of the Muon
Pi for dessert
Let’s end this day on a note of wonder. It’s Pi Day! (March 14, or 3-14). Pi is an irrational number… it cannot be written as the ratio of two integers. It’s a number that represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its own diameter. It shows up everywhere when you try… Continue reading Pi for dessert
Physics on Tap
Jodi got invited by the DFW Tap Talks organization to give a short talk for the public. I tagged along for the event. I have always wanted to check out one of these “science on tap” talks, and I was not disappointed! It was a great night of 20 minute talks, one each on physics,… Continue reading Physics on Tap
Honors Physics, Spring 2020: The Physics of Video Games and Gaming
SMU students are invited to explore physics through the lens of creating games and gaming experiences using interactive technologies. Coding, math, visualization, and storytelling combine in a landscape of physical laws to allow us to interact in increasingly realistic ways through a virtual space. Games may break the laws of nature in such a space,… Continue reading Honors Physics, Spring 2020: The Physics of Video Games and Gaming