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Making your way to the cutting edge of any field is a daunting challenge. But especially when the edge of the field is expanding; and even harder still when the rate of expansion is accelerating. John recently helped Physics World create a special 25th anniversary issue where they identified the five biggest breakthroughs in physics [...]
It is Monday afternoon and the day seems to be a productive one, if not yet quite memorable. As I revise some notes on my desk, Beni Yoshida walks into my office to remind me that the high-energy physics seminar is about to start. I hesitate, somewhat apprehensive of the near-certain frustration of being lost [...]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2DXrs0OpHU?vq=hd720&rel=0&showinfo=0] by Jorge Cham You might think the title is a little exaggerated, but if there's one thing I've learned from Theoretical Physicists so far, it's to be bold with my conjectures about reality. Welcome to the second installment of our series of animations about Quantum Information! After an auspicious start describing doing the impossible, this [...]
Faculty, Quantum Information
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFecm9NKbM?vq=hd720&rel=0&showinfo=0] by Jorge Cham. Ok, this is where things get weird. If quantum computers, femtometer motions or laser alligators weren't enough, let's throw in fractionalized electrons, topological surfaces and strings that go to the end of time. To be honest, the idea that an electron can't be split hadn't even occurred to me before my conversation with Gil [...]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zD1U1sIPQ4?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0] by Jorge Cham How do you make something that has never existed before? I often get suggestions for comics I should draw, which I welcome because A) I like to think of PHD Comics as a global collaborative effort and B) after 17 years, I'm almost out of ideas. This particular suggestion came from Chen-Lung [...]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pktWhH6m_DM?vq=hd720&rel=0&showinfo=0] by Jorge Cham What does it mean for something to be Quantum? I have to confess, I don't know. My Ph.D was in Robotics and Kinematics, so my neurons are deeply trained to think in terms of classical dynamics. I asked my siblings (two engineers and one architect) what comes to mind for them [...]
Last summer, I was blessed with the opportunity to learn about the basics of high temperature superconductors in the Yeh Group under the tutelage of visiting Professor Feng. We formed superconducting samples using a process known as Pulse Laser Deposition. We began testing the properties of the samples using X-Ray Diffraction, AC Susceptibility, and SQUIDs [...]
The benefits of Caltech's proximity to Hollywood don't usually trickle down to measly grad students like myself, except in the rare occasions when we befriend the industry's technical contingent. One of my friends is a computer animator for Disney, which means that she designs algorithms enabling luxuriously flowing hair or trees with realistic lighting or [...]
It was the summer of 2008. I was 22 years old, and it was my second week working in the crude oil and natural gas options pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX.) My head was throbbing after two consecutive weeks of disorientation. It was like being born into a new world, but without [...]