Category Archives: Engineering

Q: How is matter created? Can we create new matter and would that be useful?

Posted on March 31, 2021 by The Physicist

Physicist: This was an interesting back-and-forth, so the original questions are italicized. What was the energy at the start of the universe and how did it create matter? If the question is “how much?” or “where did it come from?”, … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Engineering, Particle Physics, Physics | 149 Comments

Q: How hot can a greenhouse get?

Posted on January 31, 2021 by The Physicist

Physicist: A greenhouse is a little like a “light pump” that works because of the picky transparency of glass. The hotter something is, the shorter the wavelength of the light it radiates (it glows bluer).  The heat you feel from … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Engineering, Physics | 19 Comments

Q: Asteroid mining. Why?

Posted on October 31, 2020 by The Physicist

Physicist: Why bother going out to mine asteroids?  Why not stay home?  The answer is a little grim.  Consider Easter Island, or Iceland, or England; each are isolated places that were once covered in vast forests with abundant animal life … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Engineering, Physics | 18 Comments

Q: What is quantum supremacy? Is it awesome or worrisome?

Posted on October 31, 2019 by The Physicist

Physicist: Mostly awesome.  Eventually. Recently, some of the folk at Google claimed to have achieved “quantum supremacy” (here’s what they had to say about it).  Google has, like many other big companies and nations, been very gung-ho about research into … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Computer Science, Engineering, Quantum Theory | 9 Comments

Q: What’s the point of going to the Moon?

Posted on July 19, 2019 by The Physicist

Physicist: We imagine interplanetary spacecraft as massive, expensive rockets, but the Moon changes that.  Spacecraft built and launched from the Moon don’t have to have huge boosters; even tiny spacecraft can travel across the solar system efficiently.  We should go … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Engineering, Physics | 14 Comments

Q: How hard is it to build a space elevator? What’s the point?

Posted on June 19, 2019 by The Physicist

Physicist: Right around the end of the 19th century, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (of rocket equation fame) got to thinking about how a taller version of the Eiffel tower, built on the equator, might be a good way to get things into … Continue reading →

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