Physics Buzz

PODCAST: Cheetah Physics
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
This week on the Physics Central Podcast I'm talking about cheetahs, which have long been admired as the fastest land animals on Earth. But new research shows that speed isn't the big cat's secret to great hunting; it's acceleration. What's the differenc... more

Butterflies Inspire Anti-Counterfeit Technology
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Image credit:  Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via Flickr     Rights information:  http://bit.ly/cGotEb A Canadian company is fighting counterfeiters by employing one of the most sophisticated structures in nature: a... more

Angry Birds: Furious Forces! Review
Monday, June 17, 2013
Image Credit: National Geographic With over 1.7 billion downloads, the suite of Angry Birds games has dominated the mobile gaming market for the past few years. During the game's meteoric rise, one science writer has taken a keen interest in the physic... more

How to Perfectly Swim the Chesapeake Bay
Friday, June 14, 2013
I started this post yesterday thinking this would be a simple, interesting math problem.  Turns out I was wrong.  Here it is, a day late and one equation short.  This past Sunday I participated in the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim.  I... more

PODCAST:The Physics of Vinyl (and other records)
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
This week on the Physics Central Podcast we're talking about the physics of vinyl records. How do records record sound, and why can't you make a record out of wood or ice or some other material? (A: You CAN! It just might not sound very good!). One ... more

Luis Alvarez: Master Inventor
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Luis Alvarez Image: Dutch National Archives The physicists of yesteryear were a colorful bunch, often dabbling in one discipline for a time before jumping into something entirely new. To many, the bongo-playing, safe-cracking, Nobel Prize-winning Ric... more

Whistleblowing in Science
Monday, June 10, 2013
Last week, the Guardian published several articles revealing an extensive, intrusive monitoring program hosted by the National Security Administration. Apparently, the NSA has required cell service provider Verizon to hand over huge troves of data coveri... more