Uncertain Principles

Watching Individual Atoms Make a Phase Transition

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:02:38 -0500

A press release from Harvard caught my eye last week, announcing results from Markus Greiner's group that were, according to the release, published in Science. The press release seems to have gotten the date wrong, though-- the article didn't appear in Science last week. It is, however, available on the arxiv, so you get the ResearchBlogging for the free version a few days before you can pay an exorbitant amount to read it in the journal.

The title of the paper is "Probing the Superfluid to Mott Insulator Transition at the Single Atom Level," which is kind of a lot of jargon. The key image is this:

Those by themselves probably don't clear things up all that much, though, so let's unpack that a little in Q&A format.

What's this about? Greiner's group has an apparatus that can detect the positions of individual atoms from a BEC in an optical lattice, which they have used to watch what happens to the distribution of atoms when they take the system from a "superconducting" state to an "insulating" state.

So, these atoms are conducting electricity? No, the atoms are playing the role of electrons. They're placed in an optical lattice, which plays the role of the atoms making up a solid. The transition in question is a transition from a state in which atoms move freely from one site to another to a state in which atoms are fixed in place at definite sites.

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Two Cultures Publishing Journals

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:43:12 -0500

I hate to keep highlighting silly articles in Inside Higher Ed, but they keep publishing silly articles, like Jeffrey DiLeo's argument that humanities journals cannot be ranked because they're ~~all unique and precious flowers~~ too specialized:

Another reason for the roaring silence regarding the ranking of humanities journals regards the high level of sub-disciplinary specialization. In philosophy, there are journals devoted to general areas of philosophy (e.g., logic, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, etc.), to sub-areas of general areas of philosophy (e.g., medical ethics, business ethics, bioethics, criminal justice ethics, metaethics, environmental ethics, Buddhist ethics, etc.), to the work of individual philosophers (e.g., Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, Bertrand Russell, Charles S. Peirce, Martin Heidegger, Gilles Deleuze, etc.), to the work of historical periods (e.g., ancient, medieval, modern, etc.), to various philosophical approaches (e.g., phenomenological, analytic, pragmatic, Marxist, historicist, continental, etc.), and so on. Given the heterogeneity of types of philosophy journals, while there is a high chance of at least some agreement on the top 10 journals in each of the areas or sub-disciplines, there will be very little chance of much agreement beyond this.

Yeah, that totally doesn't happen in physics. Or biology or chemistry.

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Links for 2010-06-22

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:24:31 -0500

slacktivist: Big shoes

"But what I think people meant about [Manute] Bol's "killer instinct" was that he never seemed to take the game of basketball quite seriously enough. He hadn't chosen this game, it had chosen him. It discovered him in that Sudanese village and plucked him out of it, whisking him halfway around the world. All for the sake of a game. ManuteNancy Bol always seemed bewildered and slightly amused by that. Eugene McCarthy said that politics was like being a football coach, "You have to be smart enough to understand the game and dumb enough to think it's important." Manute Bol never seemed to master the second part of that equation. He always seemed to think we Americans were a little crazy, imagining that this game was such an important thing. It was never the most important thing to him. He had other priorities."

(tags: sports society culture world politics blogs slacktivist)
News: New Evidence of Racial Bias on SAT - Inside Higher Ed

"The focus of both studies is on questions that show "differential item functioning," known by its acronym DIF. A DIF question is one on which students "matched by proficiency" and other factors have variable scores, predictably by race, on selected questions. A DIF question has notable differences between black and white (or, in theory, other subsets of students) whose educational background and skill set suggest that they should get similar scores. The 2003 study and this year's found no DIF issues in the mathematics section. But what Freedle found in 2003 has now been confirmed independently by the new study: that some kinds of verbal questions have a DIF for black and white students. On some of the easier verbal questions, the two studies found that a DIF favored white students. On some of the most difficult verbal questions, the DIF favored black students. "

(tags: race society class-war education academia social-science news inside-higher-ed)
What is Arnold made of? : Dot Physics

Careful analysis of a clip from Commando suggests that Schwarzenegger is made of titanium.

(tags: science physics movies video silly dot-physics blogs)
Tom Paine's Ghost: Faith and Science at the World Science Festival - 2010

"This was my first time attending the World Science Festival as I signed up to volunteer months ago, otherwise I have no affiliation with WSF or any of the funding foundations. My thoughts are my own and I feel I am in a position to judge this event without bias. [...] What follows is my transcription of the dialogue. I attempt to type out exactly what was said while inserting some thoughts of my own."

(tags: science religion philosophy blogs politics culture history society)

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Last Chance for World Cup Success

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:31:23 -0500

Three European countries, France, Germany, and Spain have suffered embarrassing World Cup losses. The French team in particular has appeared to be in complete disarray. Their combined record to this point is just 2-3-1 (W-L-T).

What do these three countries have in common? None of them have purchased translation rights for How to Teach Physics to Your Dog. Meanwhile, the seven countries with current or forthcoming editions (the US, Brazil, Portugal, England, Italy, Japan, and South Korea) have a combined record of 5-2-7.

I think the lesson here is clear: translation rights for Spanish, French, or German editions of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog are still available. Act quickly, publishers in those nations, and you may yet salvage some World Cup success for your country. The clock is ticking...

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Dropping Bose Condensates for Fun and Science

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:22:56 -0500

An experiment in Germany has generated a good deal of publicity by dropping their Bose-Einstein Cendensate (BEC) apparatus from a 146 meter tower. This wasn't an act of frustration by an enraged graduate student (anybody who has worked with BEC has probably fantasized about throwing at least part of their apparatus down a deep hole), but a deliberate act of science: They built a BEC apparatus that is entirely contained within a two-meter long capsule inside the evacuated drop tower at the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (which in German leads to the acronym ZARM, which just demands an exclamation point. ZARM!) in Bremen. The whole thing looks like this:

(Figure lifted from the Science paper. I can't find this on the arxiv, so you can't read it for free.)

This is a really cool achievement from the point of view of an experimental AMO physicist, because it's kind of amazing that BEC technology has advanced to this point in under 15 years. The publicity about the experiment sadly is not based on the AMO awesomeness, but rather on the promise of future applications to tests of the equivalence principle or BEC interferometry for gravity sensing. As such, it's getting a little ahead of things. The experiment as it currently stands is nothing more than a cool technical accomplishment, a step on the road to interesting science.

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The Glamorous Life of an Experimental Physicist

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:26:19 -0500

The Virtuosi has quickly become a staple of the daily Links Dumps here, but the recent series of posts on experimental physics deserve greater prominence, so here they are:

The individual day posts provide an inside look at what it's like to do experimental condensed matter physics, specifically using beam time on an accelerator to do diffraction studies of materials. It's got everything you would like to see in such a story-- equipment failures, sleep deprivation, bad data, good data, and promising results for future experiments.

The "Reflections" post contains general comments on what it takes to be an experimental physicist:

It's An Emotional Roller Coaster
Sometimes nothing works. At all. You try and try and you just can't make it work. Then sometimes everything is going well. You're getting data, and not just that, but the data looks good. Whether it's confirming or destroying your expectations, you're finding out something new about the world. It's exciting. You find something interesting and start chasing it. However, you have to be careful. Often the result is not what you think you're seeing. It's a false signal from your equipment, or attributable to the background material doing something strange. Or you've destroyed the sample, and that's why it's not doing what you expect. You go up and down quite a bit.

It's great stuff. While the experimental details are specific to their field of physics, the general material is accurate even for those of us whose experiments fit in a single room that we control 24/7. Experimental physics at any scale is both exhausting and exhilarating, sometimes simultaneously.

Don't just take my word for it, though-- go over there and check it out.

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Links for 2010-06-21

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:32:05 -0500

Lost Myths

" Lostmyths.net is a website featuring myths uncovered by writer Claude Lalumière (Tesseracts 12, Witpunk, Objects of Worship) and illustrator Rupert Bottenberg. As cryptomythologists, they study imaginary myths, just like cryptozoologists study imaginary creatures. [...] The site features gods and deities from pantheons unsuspected until now and stories about some heretofore unknown players of existing traditions. Knowing that myths are not just stories but can manifest everywhere in culture and society, Claude and Rupert have made Lostmyths "a playful medley of cryptomythological fiction, pantheons, bestiaries, comics, art, games, readings, performances, and more"." -- description from Rene Walling at Tor.com

(tags: art culture mythology stories sf literature history blogs)
YouTube - 【JAXAクラブ】　大きい模型をつくってみたぞ　1　【IKAROS（イカロス)】

Cool demo of the IKAROS solar sail unfolding, done by people on the ground with a scale model. And Japanese speech bubbles.

(tags: science space youtube video technology)

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Chateau SteelyKid

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 19:13:40 -0500

I've made a few oblique references to home improvement projects over the last week or so. These weren't for our house, but for SteelyKid's-- Kate's mom got her a playhouse for Christmas, which we finally got around to installing in the back yard. SteelyKid has taken right to home ownership:

Don't let her studied cool in that picture fool you, though. Getting the house was the highlight of the whole day:

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Science Is More Like Sumo Than Soccer

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:10:38 -0500

There's a blog post making the rounds of the science blogosphere titled If Sports Got Reported Like Science, which imagines the effect of applying the perceived restriction on scientific terminology to sports reporting:

HOST: In sports news, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti today heavily criticised a controversial offside decision which denied Didier Drogba a late equaliser, leaving Chelsea with a 1-all draw against Sunderland.
INTERCOM: Wait. Hold it. What was all that sports jargon?
HOST: It's just what's in the script. All I did was read it - I've got no idea what it's really on about.
INTERCOM: Nobody without a PhD in football's going to understand that. Who wrote this crap? It's elitist rubbish, people will just turn off when they hear it. "Late equaliser"? "Offside"? We've got to get this rewritten so it's more accessible.

It goes on like that for a bit, and it's fairly amusing. But here's the thing-- it's funny because the people reading it genuinely know what the "jargon" terms mean. A very large fraction of the world's population knows enough about soccer to interpret those first lines-- even people who don't actively follow the sport end up knowing a bit about the rules and terminology, and can thus decipher most of the jargon used in sports reporting.

It's not quite as amusing if you look at expert commentary about a less well-known sport, such as this page of sumo analysis:

Rounding out the Ozeki is Baruto, whose latest run officially ended on day 8 at the hands of Kakuryu of all rikishi. Baruto managed to beat Kaio on day 9 (how could he not?), but his only wins after that were against Kisenosato that saw Baruto execute a tachi-ai henka and against Kitataiki on day 14 in a bout that lasted way longer than it should have. Let's focus on those two bouts as they really tell a lot.

First, the tachi-ai henka against Kisenosato completely reveals Baruto's mindset. He had just lost four of five and was in complete panic mode. Opting for the free win in that situation shows that he doesn't trust his sumo. All of the great rikishi trust their sumo.

Then, against Kitataiki the next day Baruto was beaten technically on every front. He lost the tachi-ai and was in deep trouble only surviving on his size advantage. That aspect has propelled Baruto a long way in this sport, but they say shin-gi-tai for a reason. Against Kisenosato, Baruto showed his lack of shin. Against Kitataiki, there was no gi to be found.

Unless you're either Japanese or Ethan Zuckerman, that probably doesn't make a great deal of sense. Sumo isn't all that popular outside of Japan, and the community of people who understand sumo jargon is not that large. If you were setting out to write a story on sumo for a non-Japanese audience, you would be well advised to either define terms like "tachi-ai" and "shin-gi-tai," or leave them out altogether.

The sad fact is, science is more like sumo than soccer.

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World Cup Weekend

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:17:44 -0500

Friday's games showcased everything that makes international soccer maddening for Americans to watch: dreadful officiating, lack of scoring, and annoyingly conservative strategy. The referee in the Germany-Serbia game handed out cards like it was a poker tournament, with the result that, in the second half, every time two players got within about a meter of each other, both fell down, figuring it was about 50-50 that he would call something.

The cavalcade of cards eventually got German striker Miroslav Klose thrown out (for a nothing little tackle), so Germany spent the last hour or so of the game playing 10 on 11. Not that you would've known from the play on the field. After scoring a goal to take the lead before halftime, Serbia spent the entire second half all turtled up, letting Germany control the ball and bang away futilely at the goal. They mounted only token offense, and really should've been tied, but Lukas Podolski, Germany's other Polish forward, had a nightmare afternoon in which he missed at least three wide open shots, including a penalty kick.

If there's any (poetic) justice, Serbia will finish group play tied with another team, and fail to advance on goal differential, which they could've done something about, but chose not to. Watching them run out the clock for an entire half was just pathetic, even more pathetic than the officiating.

Bad as that was, the ref for the US-Slovenia game was even worse.

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Links for 2010-06-20

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 07:30:08 -0500

Jason Sanford: Why science fiction predictions hold back the genre

"In many ways, the idea that science fiction is about predicting the future is a remnant of the genre's past. During the 1940s and '50s, genre promoters pitched SF as a way to inspire and teach people about science and technology. And during the era of Sputnik and atomic bomb beauty pageants, perhaps this was the correct thing to do. But that time is long past. And while few writers and readers within the genre give more than lip service to science fiction being solely about predicting the future, the problem is that outside the genre the general public still believes literary science fiction is mainly about predictions. Why is this bad? Because it turns potential readers off the genre before they even open a book. After all, why would anyone want to read a genre about predicting the future when said genre repeatedly failed to predict the world we now live in?"

(tags: sf literature books history blogs)
Condensate created in freefall - physicsworld.com

"A Bose- Einstein condensate experiment - lasers and all - has been dropped repeatedly from a height of 146 m. Designed by an international team of physicists, the experiment has shown that delicate multiparticle quantum systems can be created and analysed in microgravity environments created during freefall. The result also suggests that it is possible to launch similar experiments into space, where they could test predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity. "

(tags: science physics atoms low-temperature quantum gravity experiment physics-world)
How lucky would Kepler have to be to see us? : Starts With A Bang

"Where are the planetary systems like ours? To answer that, I'll run through a little hypothetical analysis with you. What if one of the stars Kepler was looking at was just like ours? What if an identical copy our Solar System was sitting out there, 10 parsecs (or so) away, and Kepler had the good fortune to be looking at it? What are the chances we would find something interesting? "

(tags: science astronomy blogs planets space starts-with-bang)
Lance Mannion: Soul Men

An impassioned defense of "The Blues Brothers" as a Catholic Classic.

(tags: movies music culture history nostalgia religion review blogs mannion)

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How to Teach Physics to Your Brazilian Dog

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:53:48 -0500

As I was heading out with SteelyKid to do some shopping, I noticed that the mail had arrived, including a large book mailer from my agent. I was a little puzzled as to what that could be, but left it for my return. Where I was pleased to open the envelope and find:

That's a copy of Como Ensinar Física ao Seu Cachorro, that is, the Portuguese translation of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog. I can't directly read a word of it, of course, but having written the original, I can identify some key amusing phrases, such as "Coelhos feitos de queijo" and "Cuidado com os esquilos perversos," which is awesome.

Giving credit where it's due, the hard work of translation was done by Ana Gibson, and the translated version was checked for physical accuracy by Prof. Marco Moriconi, who I exchanged a few emails with. Prof. Moriconi also wrote a preface, which I can't read at all, but it looks very nice to me.

Put that together with a reasonably successful signing this afternoon (I sold three or four copies to people who hadn't come in intending to buy one, which is always a nice feeling), and it's been a good day for dog physics.

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That's Our Baby!

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 11:34:36 -0500

Friday was the last day of the school year hereabouts, so SteelyKid's day care had an end-of-year ceremony for all the preschool classes, which included her group ("Waddlers," which are between "Infants" and "Toddlers"). They gave certificates to all the kids, for a variety of different things. Here's a picture of SteelyKid's certificate:

I have no idea where she gets that from. No idea at all.

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How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Signing Tomorrow

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:21:44 -0500

Today is my birthday-- my age in dog years is now equal to the freezing point of water in Kelvin (to three significant figures). I'm celebrating by not reading anything that might piss me off, and by spending the day at home watching soccer (about which more later) and getting some stuff done around the house. I'm working on a nice surprise for SteelyKid, which should be finished this weekend, if the weather cooperates.

I do want to remind those of you within striking distance of Schenectady, though, that I will be signing How to Teach Physics to Your Dog tomorrow, Saturday the 19th, from 1-2:30 pm at the Open Door bookstore:

If you're in the general area, and would like a signed copy of the book, stop on by. This is the last signing I have scheduled at the moment, until the paperback comes out in December, so if you'd like a signed book, this is your last best chance.

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Hugo Reading: Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:17:48 -0500

When the Hugo nominees were announced, Catherynne Valente's Palimpsest was the only one of the three Best Novel nominees I hadn't already read that I was pretty sure I would read. I have very little interest in Robert Sawyer's work, and I've read just enough of Paolo Bacigalupi's short fiction to dread the thought of reading something of his at novel length. I may yet read The Wind-Up Girl out of a sense of obligation, because people keep saying it's brilliant, but his previous Hugo-nominated short fiction was so crushingly depressing that I'm not excited by the prospect.

I wanted very badly to like Palimpsest, not least because the other novels on the list-- Julian Comstock, The City and the City, and Boneshaker were perfectly fine novels, but nothing I'd be thrilled to crown the Best Novel of 2009. Also, it has a great central conceit: a city that is like a sexually transmitted disease. If you have sex with someone who is infected, you get to visit a section of the city of Palimpsest in your dreams. Each new infected partner you have sex with gets you access to a different neighborhood. Infected people carry a tattoo-like mark somewhere on their body, showing a map of the neighborhood that they give you access to.

It's a neat idea, and the sections describing Palimpsest are very evocatively written:

Colophon Station is the central transit terminal for the trains of Palimpsest. The stately prewar cinquefoils show the evening sky, deeper than gold and warmer than blue. The great ambulatory is lined with pillars of plum trees trained to support the long, ochre-tiled roof, blossoming grasping branches twisting the doves into living capitals. Within, eleven pyrite staircases spiral down to the grand floor, a marble expanse in which the old wheel of Palimpsest is laid out in rosewood, the face of the circular city when it was small and unassuming, a walled place, home only to a few celery farmers and astronomers. Great lancet arches lead further into the earth, labeled with stern roman capitals: Points East, Points North, Points Far, Points Near. In the center of the rosewood wheel the Verdigris Fountain splashes and trickles: a woman bound up in railroad ties, her arms flung upward in ecstasy, water streaming from her palms, her hair spread out as in a many-armed corona. Green age encrusts her, her eyes worn smooth by water, her nose half-gone. Yet still she watches over travelers, Our Lady of Safe Transfer, Star of the Underground.

The ceiling of Colophon Station is unpainted, for it was the desire of the architect, whose name was long ago buried under a black quoin, that passersby become aware in the most piquant way that they have passed underground. Therefore the roof of Colophon is planted over with flame-colored ginger flowers, whose thick golden roots reach down thirstily into the interior, and any traveler may look up and see only earth and straining roots, and the wonderful smell of it penetrates the skin for days afterward.

Sadly, I'm giving up without finishing this book. The proximate cause of my abandonment is that the book got overwritten with the Charles Stross novella of the same title when updating the Palm I use as an e-book reader. The real reason, though, is that it just wasn't working for me.

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