Talk Like A Physicist

Tuesday Tattoo: Topological tattoo - Immersion of a torus in 3 space

Here is a torus in 3 space by Cassidy Curtis

And here is the corresponding tattoo

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There is nothing more fascinating then multidimenstional topology. A complex structure viewed the right way becomes so simple.

Random act of science teaching - you weigh less on the way down in the an elevator

Random act of science teaching. These scales were mounted inside commercial and residential elevators allowing riders to test this fact.

Explanation was available as a leaflet in the the elevator.

Everyday physics, tested by everyday person, using everyday objects.

Max Plank; papers in Quantum Physics : on Nintendo DS? Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tattoo: Ultimate physics tattoo - Schrodinger equation

This is absolutely awesome!

I can read the Schrodinger Equation and see a picture of an atorm a nucleaus and an electron.

Having trouble deciphering the middle part and the bottom part.

To see this as a body tattoo is beyond beleif.

Source tattoo sported by Jim, taken in 2005, it seems.

Here is a larger version

Update - from the commentator Lokicubed: The middle line is the
Bose-Einstein distribution. It gives the statistical distribution
of bosons. Below that the circle with wave going around it, is an
example of wave nature of electrons. The idea of De Broglie wavelength
is exemplified here by having the orbiting electon represented not by
a particle but by a wave that closes on itself. Contrast that to the
atom picture in the top left. The bottom line is the total energy of
a moving particle taking into account relativistic effects. It is the
sum of its rest mass and its kinetic energy. Notice how if the particle
is at rest, p=0 (momentum is velocity*mass (or the rate of change of force
wrt time)) so the equation becomes E=mc2. 

The tattoo is missing a power 2 on the capital E.

Dynamic Magnetic Field as animated images –> Magnetic Movie

Magnetic fields are invisible, at least usually. But Scientists from NASA’s Space Sciences Laboratory have made them visible as “animated photographs,” using sound-controlled CGI and 3D compositing. It makes the fields dance in an absolutely gorgeous movie called Magnetic Movie.

This is the best depiction of solar wind that I have seen.

This is just a visualization of the fields that were present in the space at the time of the filming.

The secret lives of invisible magnetic fields are revealed as chaotic, ever-changing geometries. All action takes place around NASA’s Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley, to recordings of space scientists describing their discoveries. Actual VLF audio recordings control the evolution of the fields as they delve into our inaudible surroundings, revealing recurrent ‘whistlers’ produced by fleeting electrons. Are we observing a series of scientific experiments, the universe in flux, or a documentary of a fictional world?

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Gamma Ray Sky View

The reason we “see” specific frequencies of light, or alternatively, our brains have acquired the capability to interpret the signals coming to the eyes in a certain narrow band of electromagnetic waves, is because of two things (i) particular properties of the spectra arriving from the Sun, and (ii) the specific photo synthesis process that became dominant and gave the green color to our food.

In an alternate world, depending on its own star, and its own food chain, one can imagine an alien being acquiring a capability to “see” in a different frequency band.

Sometimes I tell my eight year daughter science fiction stories based on “real science”, and we have a recurring character called Gammon, and he comes from a planet where the inhabitants are lead based and their food supply is radioactive metal and they “see” in hard X-ray/soft gamma ray spectrum.

If they were to look up in the sky, this is what they would see:

night sky in gamma ray spectrum; not too different from how the sky looks in the visible spectrum.

In case you are wondering as to how the earth will look in the gamma ray spectrum, wonder no more.

The pixelated planet above is actually our own planet Earth seen in gamma rays.

The Earth’s gamma-ray glow is indeed very faint, and this image was constructed by combining data from seven years of exposure during the life of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, operating in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. Brightest near the edge and faint near the center, the picture indicates that the gamma rays are coming from high in Earth’s atmosphere. The gamma rays are produced as the atmosphere interacts with high energy cosmic rays from space, blocking the harmful radiation from reaching the surface.

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