I try to focus this blog mostly on news stories related to scientific discoveries, but sometimes I feel the need to get a bit more topical, and stories from a ... Read More

One of the major concerns regarding the creation of quantum computers is that these devices would be so advanced that they would be able to crack current computer cryptography systems. ... Read More

Aug. 25, 1609 - Galileo Galilei demonstrates his improved version of the Dutch invention, the telescope, to Venetian lawmakers for the first time. Aug. 29, 1831 - By some sources, this ... Read More

Computers are designed around basic components called "bits," which switch between "on" and "off" positions and are used to perform all of the myriad computations that the computer software runs ... Read More

I frequently get e-mails asking about various physics situations. Recently, I got one from Anton Tuomi in Sweden which brought up a lot of rich physics topics: I have the ... Read More

I frequently get a lot of questions, especially around this time of year, for suggestions on studying physics. Actually, what I tend to get are e-mails asking me to ... Read More

Aug. 19, 1662 - French mathematician, philosopher, & physicist Blaise Pascal dies. Pascal was best known for his mathematical work, especially the formation of Pascal's Triangle (although he was not ... Read More

The swimsuit that Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin wear in the Olympics are Speedo LZR Racer suits. The skintight body suits, released in February, are made of a revolutionary new ... Read More

Aug. 13, 1814 - Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Angstrom is born. His pioneering work in the field of spectroscopy, such as being the first to analyze the aurora borealis, resulted ... Read More

The smallest balloon in the history of the world has been made within a graphene membrane. The balloon was essentially a pressurized bubble of gas contained within the graphene ... Read More

CERN's Large Hadron Collider has announced the date when the first circulating particle beam will be running through it: September 10. The exact meaning of this date is open to some ... Read More

Aug. 5, 1858 - The first transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully laid, largely through the efforts of entrepeneur Cyrus West Field. The cable was weak and ceased functioning by September, ... Read More

Last July, at age 60, Queen guitarist Brian May earned his Ph.D. in astrophysics after having completed work that he began thirty years ago but abandoned to pursue his career ... Read More

Recently, I've discussed some ways that physics and culture mix, but a new development brings that to light even more significantly. The Large Hadron Rap was written by CERN ... Read More