The second law of thermodynamics gets trotted out all the time, especially in conversations about evolutionary biology. Less familiar are principles of maximum entropy production, which deal specifically with systems that are not in equilibrium (everything the same temperature). Most of the situations we experience involve differences in temperature, but there's still a lot to learn about how physics works when temperatures differ (at least partly because the math is more complicated). Which brings us to this study … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Dancing in the Sunshine
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Science Corner: Back to the Present
You don't need a DeLorean to see that this year is going to bring a lot of Back to the Future references and time travel talk. It's fitting, then, that physicists have actually succeeded in constructing a quantum time machine. Well, sort of. (Isn't that always the way with quantum physics?) It turns out, one can create subatomic systems under one set of conditions, and they will also behave as if they were under a different set of conditions. The first intuition is probably to imagine doing something slowly as a way … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Back to the Present
Science Corner: All the Brilliant Ladies
It is both conventional wisdom and a statistical reality that gender representation is not equal in all STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) disciplines. When I enrolled at Carnegie Mellon, a school known for its STEM programs, nearly twenty (!) years ago, the student body was well aware of the distributions. Variations on "There's a guy for every girl... and then another guy for that guy" or (ladies speaking about men) "The odds are good, but the goods are odd" circulated widely lest we forget. … [Read more...] about Science Corner: All the Brilliant Ladies
Science Corner: It’s in the Cards
The game of heads-up limit Texas Hold 'em poker has effectively been solved. As I understand it, solving a game means identifying the best move to make in any given situation. Other games, like tic-tac-toe and checkers, have been solved in the past, but this result is significant because it is the first solved game where the player does not know everything about the current game situation--mainly, what cards their opponent is holding. The lessons learned have applications to a wide range of real-life situations where … [Read more...] about Science Corner: It’s in the Cards
Science In Review — Christmas Craft
At a neighborhood Christmas party, I had a lively and stimulating conversation about some of the technical elements of filmmaking--editing, cinematography, action choreography, and the like. Neither my neighbor nor I work in the field, and we don't have serious aspirations of movie careers. We just find that our appreciation of the movies we enjoy is enhanced by understanding the processes involved. … [Read more...] about Science In Review — Christmas Craft