Mark Hanna • Jun 09, 2015 •
On a rough reflective surface like the ocean or a dark wet road, reflections from bright lights like city lights, car brake lights, or the Moon appear stretched vertically. Why is this? When a surface is perfectly flat, like a regular mirror, the image we see in the reflection isn’t distorted at all. Even if […] … Read More
Marcus Wilson • May 06, 2015 •
There's no hiding my conflicts of interest here. I'm on the New Zealand Institute of Physics 2015 conference organizing committee. I'm also the NZIP treasurer. And I'm a staff member at the host organization. So, to contribute to the New Zealand physics community's biennial event in Hamilton on 6 - 8 July, click on this link. … Read More
Marcus Wilson • Mar 13, 2015 •
A mathematician can say what he likes... A physicist has to be at least partly sane J. Willard Gibbs What is it that makes a physicist sane (if only in part)? Everything has to be related back to the 'real world', or the 'real universe'. That is, a physicist has to talk about how things work in … Read More
Marcus Wilson • Jan 23, 2015 •
"Doctor, Doctor, I keep seeing spots before my eyes" "Have you ever seen an optician?" "No, just spots". The concept of seeing an optician floating across my field of view is a scary one indeed. However, the concept of seeing spots doing the same is one I'm coming to terms with. I had a talk … Read More
Marcus Wilson • Oct 21, 2013 •
A highlight of the recent NZ Institute of Physics conference was the Dan Walls medal talk given by Matt Visser. Matt has been working on general relativity. That's not desparately unusual for a physicist, but Matt has been successful in working on some of the crazier aspects of relativity and getting it published - wormholes, dumb holes … Read More
Marcus Wilson • Sep 27, 2013 •
We've just had our first session at the NZ Institute of Physics Conference. The focus was on astrophysics, and we heard from Richard Easther about 'Precision Cosmology' – measuring things about the universe accurately enough to test theories and models of the universe. We ablso heard about binary stars and supernovae, and evidence for the existence of dark matter … Read More
Marcus Wilson • Aug 09, 2013 •
Well, today's big story is just perfect for PhysicsStop. Cricket meets physics. What more could I ask for.In case you've just arrived from Alpha Centauri, there have been accusations flying that both English and Australian batsmen have been tryin... Read More
Marcus Wilson • Jul 23, 2013 •
When I was young (about six-ish) I had a variety of ambitions. Some of them I shared with a lot of other boys of my age, such as being a train driver and playing cricket for England. Some were more particular to me, such as becoming a biologist a... Read More
Siouxsie Wiles • Mar 27, 2013 •
What is the value of blue-skies research? This is a question often asked by politicians and the public. Why should public money be spent funding science that seems to have no obvious benefit beyond generating scientific knowledge? The simple answer is that it can be almost impossible to predict what new avenues that scientific knowledge will open up. Take … Read More
Marcus Wilson • Nov 22, 2012 •
Physicsworld magazine is doing a 'special feature' this month on animal superheroes - those with rather unusual physical abilities.The best of the lot (in my subjective opinion) is the featured-on-the-cover mantis shrimp. Not because of its 'dactyl clu... Read More