I just saw this recent article on the scientific portal PubMed on a new way to treat hiccups: "Termination of intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage" Loosely translated, this research implies that as an added bonus your proctologist can now treat your hiccups.
Personally, I'll stick to trying to hold my breath to cure hiccups. I'm glad I'm an experimental physicist as opposed to an experimental biologist.
I almost forgot about these. At the recent Cafe Scientifique event I spoke at they had these awesome science themed coasters. They go nicely with my newly acquired beaker mug.
I just posted a recap of the Ontario Science Centre Cafe Scientifique event I spoke at. Included is some footage from the talk I gave for those who may have missed it.
This is an event I am going to be speaking at on January 15th, 2011 at the Rivoli in downtown Toronto. There is an excellent lineup of speakers. The event is being put on by the Ontario Science Centre, and best of all it is free. So drop by for a beverage and some physics. Here is a link to the poster of the event.
Entanglement is one of the strangest things about quantum mechanics. So strange that Einstein once called it "Spooky action at a distance".
With the help of magician Dan Trommater, and some physical comedy from Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, one of the main ideas behind entanglement is explained. This video has been entered into the Arstechnica Science Video Contest.
If you have more questions about entanglement, I can try to answer them in the questions. If I have enough time, I may even be able to make a video for you so ask away!
Update: Dan and I are thinking of making some more science/magic videos. If you have some suggestions for topics in physics that you would like to see explained using magic post it in the comments below.
This is a talk I gave last year at the University of Toronto that used Harry Potter to explain quantum physics. Topics covered included teleportation, quantum superposition, the properties of light, how rainbows are formed, how 3D glasses in movie cinemas work, quantum entanglement, and quantum computing. Magician extraordinaire Dan Trommater was on hand to help demonstrate some of the physics using magic. The Space channel filmed part of the talk and are periodically running it over the next few months.
Here is the blurb describing the talk: > The universe of Harry Potter is filled with magic and wonder. Yet it is not that different from the world we inhabit. Just beneath the surface of our ordinary lives lies a shocking quantum reality. This talk is an introduction to some of the cutting edge research being carried out in quantum physics today, and how it relates to JK Rowling's universe of Harry Potter.
Unfortunately, while filming the talk the camera ran out of tape so the last few minutes are missing. I plan on giving an improved version of this talk again this spring before the next movie comes out. This time we will capture the whole thing.
This is my entry into the last Dance Your PhD contest. I did not win, but had a lot of fun putting this together. Here is the summary of the video: > Using the power of Quantum Physics, it is possible to make a ruler that can measure things far more accurately than normally possible. My PhD involved using photons, the smallest particles of light, in order to make such a "quantum ruler". I was able to get indvidual photons to cooperate with one another, leaving them entangled. These entangled photons have special properties that allow them to be used to accomplish things not ordinarily possible.
Jasper and I are thinking of working on some other dance videos to explain scientific concepts. If you have any physics ideas that you would like explained through dance, let us know in the comments.
