Monthly Archives: August 2014

Notes from a quantum mechanics boot camp: day 3

30 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by in Physics, QM Workshop

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With the third and final day of the workshop done, it’s time for me to wrap up this series on Inspiring Science. While this will be my last post about the workshop, I’m sure it won’t be the last time I write about these topics. I learned a great deal in the past few days, enough to increase both my interest in and confidence about covering physics topics. Before getting to the actual science, I want to thank the organisers, sponsors, and participants for an excellent and fruitful workshop. I hope the series continues and I look forward to coming back next year! Continue reading →

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Notes from a quantum mechanics boot camp: day 2

29 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in Physics, QM Workshop

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I didn’t have the energy to write about quantum computing last night, but fortunately I can make up for it in today’s post, since that was the main subject of the day — quantum information science and computing. Again, I’ll do my best to get the main idea across, but I’m sure it’s something I’ll revisit again in the future. Continue reading →

Notes from a quantum mechanics boot camp: day 1

28 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by in Physics, QM Workshop

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I have the good fortune of attending this year’s Nordita workshop for science writers, which is focused on quantum mechanics. It’s been a fascinating and educational experience, so I thought I should make an effort to write a post about the workshop each evening. Since I’m writing about an unfamiliar subject following a day full of lectures, these posts won’t be nearly as polished as the other stuff on Inspiring Science; I’m tired and I may have misunderstood things, so there will probably be some mistakes and clumsy explanations. On the other hand (and with that caveat), I think it’s better to share whatever understanding I’ve gained today and hope that someone will correct me where I go wrong. I’m not going to make any kind of attempt to be thorough, but simply write a bit about a couple of the things I found most interesting each day Continue reading →

Rendez-vous with a Comet

08 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in Astronomy, Physics

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In the cold reaches of space millions of kilometers from Earth, a ten-year journey is coming to an end and an era of discovery is about to begin. Rosetta, a spacecraft built and launched by the ESA has finally reached its target, meeting up with the comet 67P/Curyumov-Gerasimenko somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. We don’t have any vehicles powerful enough to launch Rosetta into the same orbit as the comet, so it’s been a long and lonely trip for the little craft, slingshoting its way around the solar system to make the trip. “After ten years, five months and four days travelling towards our destination, looping around the Sun five times and clocking up 6.4 billion kilometers, we are delighted to finally announce ‘we are here'”, said Jean-Jacques Dordain, the director general of the ESA. Continue reading →