Category Archives: Physics

Blog 1: The Speed of Light And Refractive Index

Light travels at a velocity incredibly difficult for us to comprehend other then as just a very, very large number. To be exact, light travels at a constant velocity of 299,792,458 m/s within a vacuum. This is not the same for light traveling through other conditions. When light does travel through things other then a … Continue reading Blog 1: The Speed of Light And Refractive Index Continue reading

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Space Physics and the Cassini Probe

Gravity is the magic super glue that keeps everything we know (and things we don’t know) together and functioning. Earth’s gravity keeps us on the ground, the moons gravity creates tides, and the sun’s gravity keeps us from flying away into oblivion. But why did Earth and the rest of the planets stay orbiting around […] Continue reading

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Gravity Waves

Have you ever wondered what the speed of gravity is? Were you under the assumption that the force of gravity was immediate? Like everything else in the universe, gravity has a finite speed. In fact, gravity travels at precisely c, the speed of light in a vacuum. This was first theorized as a result of Einstein’s […] Continue reading

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Light Cones

We all know that light travels really fast. It can appear instantaneous to us on earth, but when you look out … More Continue reading

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Gravitational Waves

Up until about two years ago, gravitational waves were rarely discussed outside of the scientists who based their careers on its discovery. To the public, the entire phenomena was unknown. However, that quickly changed on September 14, 2015 when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave observatory directly detected gravitational waves. As this news spread across the globe, […] Continue reading

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Phobos is Doomed and Should be Afraid

The red planet is orbited by two moons, Phobos and Deimos (Greek for Fear and Panic respectively), and given the predicted fate of Phobos, the small moon has good reason to be afraid. Both moons may have originally been asteroids that were captured by Mars’ orbit, however in time, Phobos may become a ring around… Continue reading Phobos is Doomed and Should be Afraid Continue reading

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Light Can Do the Twist Too

As many of my fellow classmates may know, the Earth orbits about the Sun, while also spinning on its axis. It is less known however, that light exhibits the same behavior. Normally, measurements regarding light record things such as direction and energy, and occasionally the spin polarization. Light also has an orbital angular momentum (OAM) however,… Continue reading Light Can Do the Twist Too Continue reading

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Death by Black Hole

Unfortunately, astronomers and physicists are pretty sure you can’t just go through a black hole and pop out the other side – you will, in fact, die. The real question is, how exactly will you die? Continue reading

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Gravitational Time Dilation

This is the excerpt for the post you’re reading right now. Continue reading

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Half Empty or Half Full?

Fermi’s paradox has some unsettling points depending on how you see the glass. Continue reading

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