Author Archives: The Physicist

Q: Could the “proton torpedoes” in Star Wars be a thing?

Physicist: If you’re a fan of Star Wars you may remember proton torpedoes from Episode IV as the only weapon that, when fired down an exposed thermal exhaust port on the Death Star, would “…start a chain reaction which should … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Particle Physics, Physics | 9 Comments

Q: Why does gravity pull things toward the center of mass? What’s so special about the center of mass?

The original question was: How do you measure d in the equation for universal gravitation ()?  It can’t be the distance between the surfaces of the objects, or when they touched f would be “infinite.”  It can’t be the distance … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Equations, Philosophical, Physics | 30 Comments

Q: In relativity, how do you define “the observer”?

Physicist: Whenever you listen to a physicist drone on about relativity (and thank you for your time), you’ll often hear them say things like “…from the perspective of a moving observer…” or “…the observer sees…”.  That’s all very fine and … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Physics, Relativity | 12 Comments

Story Collider

Physicist: If you happen to be in the LA area this week, I’ll be telling a story for Story Collider about the bizarre, but inspiring experience of doing the “Ask a Mathematician / Ask a Physicist” booth at Burning Man … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist | 3 Comments

For the first time ever, you can buy a book! Again!

Physicist: For those of you who pre-ordered my book (You’re the real heroes.  Thank you!), you probably got an email from Amazon this morning saying that your order was canceled. But have no fear, the book is definitely not canceled.  … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist | 10 Comments

Q: What is the most complicated equation?

Physicist: If you have plenty of chalkboard space and absolutely nothing better to do, you can write down numbers, letters (Greek if you’re δυσάρεστος), and mathematical operators and eventually you’ll have the longest equation ever written down.  So if you … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Equations, Math, Physics | 85 Comments