Epsiode 16 "The Peanut Reaction"

In last night's episode of the Big Bang Theory, Penny and Wolowitz decide to throw a surprise birthday party for Leonard. Assigned the task of keeping Leonard out of his apartment until the party, Wolowitz willingly bites into a peanut buttery piece of food, knowing that he will have a severe allergic reaction and Leonard will have to stay with him at the Hospital. The perfect diversion.Amid the craziness, The Feynman Lectures on Physics were mentioned, a copy of which Leonard receives as a birt.. Read more »

Greetings

Hey all! The name is Nadia, and continuing the tradition of science writing interns here at APS, I'll be blogging my heart out on the Buzz. I just graduated (literally, yesterday) from American University in Washington, DC with a degree in Biochemistry and minor in philosophy. However, I don't hide under my bed at the mere mentioning of physics, and I will do my best to bring you high quality interesting and amusing posts. I'll be signing in as uncalm, which is pretty self explanatory .. Read more »

"Political Scientist" Takes on New Meaning

Perhaps no physicist has come closer to becoming the ultimate politician as Albert Einstein, when he was asked to become the second president of Israel in 1952. He declined of course, but decades later more and more scientists are plunging into the political scene.A suspicious public, misleading media coverage, and lack of public debate has caused a growing number of scientists to advocate for "evidence-based decision making" in public policy, rather than the influence of popular emotion or intu.. Read more »

Recovered Columbia Shuttle Data, and other Physics News Briefs

Data from a hard-drive that was aboard the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003 helps explain why the act of shaking a material can quickly transform it into something completely different.Scientists around the world are scrambling to unlock the secrets behind a new group of superconducting materials.Placing enough carbon filters around the planet could reel the world's atmosphere back toward the 18th century. With startup of the Large Hadron Collider scheduled for this summer, the 10 US LHC.. Read more »

Measure Your Car's Drag Coefficient!

You know you're a true physics geek (that's a good thing) when even a trip to the Quickie Mart is an opportunity to do a physics experiment.It's still better when the experiment tells you whether those bangin' new fender skirts on your Honda CRX and the monster wing you bolted on are holding you back in your own private version of The Fast and the Furious 4. Or, even worse these days, burning a hole in your gas card.Click the pic to check out an Instructable that tells you how to measure your ca.. Read more »