If you think your electronics labs are too tough

These guys had it worse. Constructing a radio receiver from what could be scrounged from a POW camp. Including building their own resistors, capacitors, and rectifiers. Pretty crazy.

Everyday life is basically understood

Interesting couple of posts.

One.
Two.

The basic argument is that while everyday phenomena can be hideously complex (turbulence, for example), the basic laws governing them are completely understood. There is no everyday example of something that violates quantum mechanics or relativity, you have to go well beyond the everyday to find situations where we don't even know the basic rules that apply.

Of course, knowing the basic laws (i.e., equations) is one thing. Solving them is completely another, plenty to keep scientists gainfully employed for some time to come.

Just neat.

By the end of PH253, you should have a good idea of how this works. I hope.

Scientists versus science fans

There is truth in this. We invented the symbol so we don't have to bother memorizing digits ... just like you solve problem symbolically so you've solved all problems of that class, not just one particular example.

Of course, there is only one digit of pi in base pi. The rest of the numbers are a real pain then, however.

Book contest

FYI:

The 4th Annual University Libraries Book Collecting Contest is underway.  The contest is for both undergraduate and graduate students.  Full information about the contest is on the UA Libraries Web site. http://guides.lib.ua.edu/BookCollectingContest

Research Opportunity

A colleague just asked me if I knew any undergrads interested in spending the summer doing an internship at Argonne national lab. The project would involve developing an electrostatic switch using ultrananocrystalline diamond films. If you don't know what that means, it would be working with a lot of really cool vacuum and electronic equipment. :-) Travel money and stipend are likely to be covered.

If you were thinking about a research internship for the summer, and have an interest in the solid state physics or ECE areas, it might be something worth looking in to. Let me know if you'd like to know more, I'll put you in contact with my colleague.

PH253: Randomness

First, I'll be in Gallalee all day today if you have last-minute homework questions. My office is 110; I might also be in room 322.

"Material particles can be understood as the quanta of various fields, in just the same way as the photon is the quantum of the electromagnetic field.” - Steven Weinberg

“In its mature form, the idea of quantum field theory is that quantum fields are the basic ingredients of the universe, and the particles are just bundles of energy and momentum of the fields.” - Steven Weinberg

Tutoring

A friend of mine is looking for a math tutor for his daughter once or twice a week (algebra 2 I think). If you'd like to make a few bucks helping a high-school student learn math, let me know ...