Saturday January 28, 2012
Season 5 of The Big Bang Theory has picked up, right as they reached the 100th episode of the series. The three latest episodes have had some of the funniest moments of the whole series, and seems to be setting the stage for the rest of the season to play out in a way that I'm really looking forward to. You can check out the coverage of the science that shows up, as well as some notable quotes from each episode, in the individual episode reviews from this month:
I'm also continuing to add to our backlog of episode profiles, with episode 1.08, "The Grasshopper Effect."
On a (somewhat) related note, the guys on The Big Bang Theory play a collectible card combat game called The Mystic Warlords of Ka'a. This game has played a prominent role in several episodes, not least the first one that introduced Wil Wheaton as Sheldon's nemesis.
Well, some genius actually went through and created the game. It's available as a Facebook app. I've been playing it for the last couple of weeks and am finding it
Saturday January 28, 2012
Books on quantum physics are pretty common, but few of them do a very good job of balancing the complexity of the subject with the need to get these core ideas across to the lay readers. Usually, the core ideas and experiments are discussed, and the real complexities are only hinted at.
In their new book, The Quantum Universe (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does), physicists Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw don't skimp on the accessible approach, but they also make the extra effort to discuss the complexities around quantum theory in far more detail than most other books. It's a tough balancing act, but ends up being handled very well (as relativity was handled in their previous book, Why Does E=mc2?).
The end result is a book that's accessible, detailed, complex, and slightly intimidating to the novice. I would most recommend this for someone who's had introduction to basic physics concepts, and has had high school algebra and geometry, but wants to understand quantum physics now. For a complete lay reader, with no real science or math background, this book may be a tad much.
The Quantum Universe will be available on Jan. 31, but you should be able to go ahead and pre-order now, either online or at your favorite local bookstore.
Sunday January 22, 2012
It's really amazing to think about what you can get into a comic book, especially if your goal is to teach about scientific concepts. I've highlighted some of the gems that have come my way over in our science comic books list, and I've just had the opportunity to get through a new one: The Manga Guide to Relativity.
Of all of the Manga Guides, this is probably my favorite. It's an incredibly complex topic, but the laid back, visual-based approach in this book really does help to solidify the basic concepts quite well. If you ever find yourself in the need to learn relativity, aren't afraid of a bit of mathematics, and like reading manga, then this book might just be for you.
And, of course, if manga isn't your thing, then you can check out our list of other books about Einstein and relativity.
Other Manga Guides:
Saturday January 7, 2012
Every month, I get physics books from all over the place. I only get an opportunity to review a fraction of these books, though I feel bad about each one that I have to pass up. Plus, it's kind of hard to remember which books came out in a given year when I'm working on my "Best of the year" posts in December.
To help streamline things, I will now offer a monthly post that lists the upcoming physics books I feel are the most relevant to readers of this blog. I've posted my first one, collecting a list of the major physics books for January 2012. Don't worry, reviews will still come ... but this post will include books that I know won't get a full review but are still worth getting out there.
Leave a comment if you know of any upcoming books that I've missed!
