Category Archives: Physics

Q: How can wormholes be used for time travel?

Posted on December 7, 2011 by The Physicist

Physicist: A good way to think about a wormhole is as a single region of space.  That is, while the ends may be in two different locations, the wormhole itself is a single “piece of space”. So, even if you … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Physics, Relativity | 17 Comments

Q: If gravity suddenly increased would airplanes fall out of the sky, or would it compress the air in such a way that airplanes could keep flying?

Posted on December 3, 2011 by The Physicist

The original question was: “In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slapstick” there is talk of Earth’s gravity randomly changing, causing planes to fall out of the sky. Since planes fly because of air pressure variance between the top and bottom of the wings, … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Physics | 31 Comments

Entanglement omnibus!

Posted on November 29, 2011 by The Physicist

We’ve recently gotten several short questions about entanglement.  In keeping with other, better, “ask” services: entanglement omnibus! Q: What is entanglement? (nobody asked this, but it’s a good place to start) A: If you understand what correlation is, then you’re … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Particle Physics, Physics, Quantum Theory | 12 Comments

Q: Why do nuclear weapons cause EMPs (electromagnetic pulses)?

Posted on November 20, 2011 by The Physicist

Physicist: The weapon itself doesn’t cause the EMP (or not much of one).  The pulse is actually generated by the weapon’s effect on the Earth’s ionosphere. An EMP is just a sudden change in the electric and magnetic fields, which … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Physics | 24 Comments

Q: How does the expansion of space affect the things that inhabit that space? Are atoms, people, stars, and everything else getting bigger too?

Posted on November 16, 2011 by The Physicist

Physicist: Way back in the day Edwin Hubble (of telescope fame) noticed that the farther away a galaxy is, the faster it’s moving away from us.  From this he figured out that the universe is expanding, but in a very … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Physics | 31 Comments

Q: What would Earth be like if it didn’t turn?

Posted on November 12, 2011 by The Physicist

Physicist: The side of the Earth facing the sun would quickly become hotter than boiling water, and the side facing away would be cold enough for the atmosphere to freeze solid (condense into nitrogen and oxygen ice).  So all of … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Physics | 21 Comments