Category Archives: Mathematics

“Pow”! “Bang”! The Physics of Superheroes

A photograph showing a few frames of a Marvel superheroes comic book. Two masked superheroes - one wearing a red outfit and the other one with a green outfit - are flying through space. The captions read: Red Man "You can open your eyes now. There they are." Green man "Wait. I'm confused. If we're smaller than light particles now. How are we even seeing?" Red Man "You're not... Not in any human way. The five senses become something else entirely at this quantum level. Your mind's doing you a favour. It's processing all this into familiar visuals so you won't go insane. By the way, you're not breathing oxygen either. It's best not to think about it." Green Man "No kidding." Superheroes smaller than photon-life.
Physics meets Comic-Book Superheroes

The Physics of Superheroes is a popular science book by  James Kakalios, a Physics professor at the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Minnesota, and a long-time comic-book fan.  First published in 2005, the book explores the elementary laws of physics.

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The Field Equations of General Relativity

An artist's impression of the Earth's gravity field as described in Einstein's General Relativity.

Keeping It Relatively Simple

The Einstein Field Equations of General Relativity are vast and complex, but they can be written with deceptive simplicity. 

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60-Second Adventures in Thought

A picture illustrating the Hilbert's Infinite Hotel. Image: The Open University
6 Short Videos about the Philosophy of Maths and Science

The Open University has created a series of 6 short animated iTunes videos about the Philosophy behind Maths and Science.  A real treat.  And it’s educational too!  If you have only 60 seconds, you can now learn how we rationalise the abstract concepts at the root of everything there is to know about matter, energy, life, the Universe and everything…

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60-Second Hilarious Adventures in Astronomy

A slide picture from 60 seconds in Astronomy, showing English astronomer on holiday. Image: The Open University
12 Short Videos about the Physics of the Cosmos

The Open University has teamed up with “geek chic” comedian David Mitchell to release a series of 12 short animated YouTube videos about the Physics of the Cosmos: “60-Second Adventures in Astronomy”.  A real treat.  And it’s educational!  If you have only 60 seconds, you can now learn everything we know about matter, energy, life, the Universe and everything…

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The Standard Model

... but what is a Higgs Boson?

20th Century World View

The Standard Model of Particle Physics is a theory about the electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear interactions, developed throughout the mid-to-late 20th century, as a worldwide collaborative effort. Upon experimental confirmation of the existence of quarks, the theory is finalised in the mid-1970s.  Ever since that time, further evidence of its validity have been provided by successive discoveries of the other predicted particles, such as the bottom quark (1977), the top quark (1995), the tau neutrino (2000) and even more recently, the Higgs boson (2012) to complete the whole set.

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Lightning and the Earth’s Electric Field

A photograph showing some spectacular lightning bolts above a city skyline at night.
Earth’s Electric Field

The Earth has an electric field.  On average, this field points vertically downwards and it has a magnitude of about 100 N C-1 (Newtons per Coulomb).  It exists because the Earth’s surface carries a negative charge of – 5 x 10C, while the upper atmosphere carries a compensating positive charge.  An average of 400,000 thunderstorms a day sustain a relatively constant electric field.

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Calculus

Essential Derivatives

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Fallen from Outer Space…

A photograph of Daredevil Felix Baumgartner, as he boldly prepares to jump off his high altitude capsule for the ultimate record-breaking space dive on 14th October 2012.

Record-Breaking Space Dive

14th October 2012.  During his ultimate high-altitude parachute jump, Felix Baumgartner spends approximately 4 minutes and 22 seconds in freefall, at the maximum speed of 1,342 kilometres per hour. 

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Constant Matters

Pi_Number
Physical Constants (SI Units)

Avogadro Constant

N_{A} = 6.022 \times 10^{23} mol^{-1}

Bohr Radius

a_0 = 5.29 \times 10^{-11} m

Boltzmann Constant

k = 1.381 \times 10^{-23} JK^{-1}

Charge on an Electron

e = - 1.602 \times 10^{-19} C

Gravitational Constant

G = 6.673 \times 10^{-11} Nm^{2} kg^{-2}

Magnitude of Acceleration due to Gravity

g = 9.81 m s^{-2}

Permeability of Free Space 

\mu_{0} = 4 \pi \times 10^{-7} T m A^{-1}

Permittivity of Free Space 

\epsilon_{0} = 8.854 \times 10^{-12} C^{2} N^{-1} m^{-2}

Speed of Light in a vacuum

c = 2.998 \times 10^{8} m s^{-1}