Chromodynamics: Gluons are just gonzo
One of the more fascinating bits of high-energy physics is the branch of physics called quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Don’t let the big name throw you off: it deals with a bunch of elementary particles that…
September 2017
The significance of Cassini’s end
Many generations of physicists, astronomers and astrobiologists are going to be fascinated by Saturn because of Cassini. I wrote this on The Wire on September 15. I lied. Truth is, I don’t care about Saturn. In fact, I’m fascinated…
Starless city
Overheard three people in Delhi: When you feel the rain fall, you feel the dirt pouring down on you, muck streaking down your face and clothes. It washes down the haze from the skies and…
Understanding what ‘400 years’ stands for, through telescopes
This is how Leonard Digges described a telescope in 1571: By concave and convex mirrors of circular [spherical] and parabolic forms, or by paires of them placed at due angles, and using the aid of…
Making sense of quantum annealing
One of the tougher things about writing and reading about quantum mechanics is keeping up with how the meaning of some words change as they graduate from being used in the realm of classical mechanics…
Gods of nothing
The chances that I’ll ever understand Hollywood filmmakers’ appetite for films based on ancient mythology is low, and even lower that I’ll find a way to explain the shittiness of what their admiration begets. I…