What Causes a Curveball to Curve?If you’ve ever seen a curveball in action, you might have wondered how it works. Is it centripetal force? An optical illusion? The answer…Jan 23, 2021Jan 23, 2021
Published inGround State CuriosityHow Much is this Girl Slowing Down Earth’s Rotation?xkcd’s Angular Momentum is a romantic application of the conservation of momentum. But it may lead you to wonder: How does a person…Dec 24, 2020Dec 24, 2020
Published inGround State CuriosityWhat’s so Special about Maxwell’s Equations?Maxwell’s equations are some of the hallmark equations of physics culture, but what makes these equations so special that people are…Dec 24, 2020Dec 24, 2020
Published inGround State CuriosityWhy is the Sky Blue?After light from the sun makes its lonely journey to earth, it strikes our upper atmosphere with a spectrum strongest in yellow, red…Dec 23, 2020Dec 23, 2020
Published inGround State CuriosityA Visual Guide to the Uncertainty PrincipleThe Heisenberg uncertainly principle captures the experimental and theoretical phenomena that you can’t ever really have full information…Dec 22, 2020Dec 22, 2020
Published inGround State CuriosityDo Atoms Ever Touch?Overall, yes. But there’s more to this question than a simple answer. So let’s break down atoms into two parts and answer this question…Dec 21, 2020Dec 21, 2020
Published inGround State CuriosityWhen Does Something Become Quantum?The line between classical and quantum physics is a blurry line, but one general benchmark is if the wavelength of the particle is at…May 6, 2020May 6, 2020
Published inGround State CuriosityHow to (Probably) Win at Rock Paper ScissorsThe internet is riddled with articles about the best strategies for rock, paper, scissors (RPS), and they all generally suggest the same…Dec 14, 2019Dec 14, 2019
Why You Can’t Use Entanglement to Communicate Faster than Light (Without Math)I often get asked to explain pop-sci concepts like how you can travel back in time. But one of the more recent ones has been to clarify…Dec 5, 2019Dec 5, 2019
Why is Physics so Hard?It’s not uncommon for people to cringe when they hear the word physics. For some, it resurrects thoughts of memorizing equations and then…Mar 3, 2019Mar 3, 2019