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720° untangles 360° tangles
Despite growing up in three dimensions, as a kid I did not recognize one of 3D’s deep and subtle properties: full rotations tangle, but double rotations untangle! Following physicist Paul Dirac, twist a belt one full turn about its length. The 360° single twist cannot be undone without changing the belt buckles’ orientations, although the twist…
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Wooster physics reunion in Eugene, Oregon!
I recently returned from a refreshing and productive leave at the University of Oregon in Eugene. I received my own Ph D in the field of quantum optics at Oregon, and my leave was a great opportunity to continue work with prior colleagues. However, I am excited to be back and interacting daily with Wooster…
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Luna’s Convex Orbit
Luna orbits Earth and Earth orbits Sol (where Luna is Earth’s moon and Sol is Earth’s star, the sun). As a kid, I thought Luna’s solar orbit formed a loopy spirograph pattern. Instead, Luna’s orbit is convex! Neglecting the eccentricity and tilts of the orbits and the incommensurability of the periods, Luna’s counterclockwise path around…
Month: January 2019
Recent Comments
Nice post, John! Thanks for writing these. I always enjoy them.
David Smith’s ein stein is an awesome shape!
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- Sabbatical trip to Europe – Part 3 (Otto Rössler)
- Sabbatical trip to Europe – Part 2 (Switzerland)
- Sabbatical trip to Europe – Part 1 (Lviv, Ukraine)
- The Longest Flight
- Where Are the Stars?
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Thanks, Mark! I enjoy reading your posts as well.