Category Archives: Physics

Light Can Do the Twist Too

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Ashley Garcia

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

Posted on February 12, 2017 by josiezd

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

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Paolo Dumancas

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

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Half Empty or Half Full?

Posted on April 24, 2016 by impossibleensign

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

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Doppler vs. Astrometric: Find the Planet

Posted on April 10, 2016 by samihahplanet

Currently, it’s quite difficult to discover new planets simply by direct observation. This is because the high interference of light caused by the planets’ respective stars makes it almost impossible to detect the light reflected off of planets. However, there are two indirect planet detection methods: Doppler and astrometric. The astrometric method relies on measuring […] Continue reading →

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Let’s Talk About Carl Sagan (Remix)

Posted on April 10, 2016 by andyastronomer

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” These are the only words I really remember of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series when I watched it in high school physics class. However, Carl Sagan left a much greater legacy than his musings on apple pie. Carl Sagan inspired an […] Continue reading →

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Quantum Entanglenment

Posted on April 9, 2016 by OscarBen

  Quantum entanglement is a central principle of quantum physics that says some particles, like photons or electrons, are linked together so that the state of one particle cannot be described independently of the other. Another central principle of quantum theory is that before a particle is measured, it doesn’t have a definite state but… More Quantum Entanglenment Continue reading →

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Where’s Waldo?

Posted on March 15, 2016 by impossibleensign

You thought finding Waldo was hard, searching for life in the universe might be a little harder… Continue reading →

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Spaghettification

Posted on March 15, 2016 by OscarBen

The event horizon of a black hole is the point of no return. When an object gets close to this event horizon, extreme tidal forces from the black hole create a gravitational field that is so strong it begins to compress objects into long, thin shapes, like spaghetti. These are the same tidal forces we’ve discussed… More Spaghettification Continue reading →

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What the Heck is a Pulsar?!

Posted on March 15, 2016 by 2016spaceodyssey

Have you ever heard of something called a pulsar?  If not then you are missing out because they are one of the strangest and most fascinating objects in the universe.  A pulsar is a special kind of neutron star, that means that the star is pretty much entirely made up of only neutrons held together […] Continue reading →

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