Physics Buzz

As someone whose job it is to help people understand and appreciate physics, I absolutely hate  the way most people talk about Isaac Newton and how he developed his theory of gravity. It's not the apple bit that I have a problem with; that's an important part of the story, and even historically accurate! The thing that kills me is the way the idea is framed, and the gulf that it creates between his observation  and his insight . What do I mean by that? Let's unpack the story, as I remember first being told it.

On any list of famous names in science, Sir Isaac Newton's is always near the top. Sure, he had his crazy side , but his contributions to mathematics and physics changed the world of science forever. The law of gravity, the foundations of calculus—we owe so much to Newton's work that the fundamental laws of mechanics and motion bear his name. Now, neophyte publisher Kronecker Wallis  is hoping to bring Newton's work to a new generation of readers by creating a new edition of the Principia Mathematica ,  the foundational text where Newton's laws of motion were codified for the first time. The reissue of Newton's Principia  promises a minimalist design  to contrast  with the complexity of its content. Image Credit:   Kronecker Wallis

Last summer, a group of scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology initiated one of the few Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) of its kind. Their approach has inspired other physics educators locally and internationally. Michael Schatz, a professor of physics at Georgia Institute of Technology, along with a group of colleagues is now nearing completion of the third class of their MOOC on introductory physics. The course, called “Your World is Your Lab” and offered through the education technology company Coursera, offers its fair share of recorded lectures, discussion boards and problem sets, but in order to pass the class students must also complete a series of lab assignments. Logo for the MOOC "Your World is Your Lab." Credit: Michael Schatz Most professional scientists can recall their undergraduate days and the many hours spent with Bunsen burners, microscopes and diffraction gratings. However, many who enroll in MOOCs do not have the same access to lab

Long ago the Buzz Blogger, Agent Utah, challenged me to write a post on Ru Paul's Drag Race that fit the theme of the Physics Buzz Blog which is more or less about, well physics. She fulfilled her end of the challenge with an amazing piece on Project Runway . She is in fact a professional writer. So after many months of procrastinating and traveling to physics conferences I have stepped up to the challenge. While I doubt that I can match wits with the awesome Agent Utah, this post will definitely change the way we look at physicists. That being said I should also mention that this will be my last post on the Buzz Blog. Yep, I'm heading off to math land. So what other way than to go out with a bang... a fabulous bang.Every Monday night this last spring, my friends and I would religiously huddle around the magical glowing rectangle at 9pm for Ru Paul's Drag Race on the LOGO channel. Even though the season triumphantly ended months ago, Ru Paul being the genius that she is