Tag Archives: physics

Wide angle shot of double rainbow showing supernumerary bands below main rainbow and dark Alexander's band between first and second rainbow.

Rainbows are way more complex than I thought: supernumerary bands and Alexander’s band

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Nearing the end of a long summer day, less than an hour from sunset, a sun shower passes through. Out the window we see a remarkable sight: a double rainbow in front of a blue sky! Conditions were basically perfect: bright sun coming in at a low angle against a darkening sky. It was one of largest and brightest rainbows I’ve ever seen.

I grabbed my DSLR and started taking photos. For the first time I had taken a good photo of a rainbow (they tend not to look nearly as dramatic in photos as the look in real life).

As I was looking through the viewfinder, I thought “wow, it kind of looks like there are extra bands beyond the violet on the main arc. And the photo confirmed: there are. It turns out there is more to rainbows that I knew about.

But before we get to that those extra bands: what is a double rainbow? For that matter…

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Did you just watch Oppenheimer? Want to learn more?

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Just a few days ago I watched Christopher Nolan’s new film Oppenheimer, a biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who lead the Manhattan Project and is widely known as the “father of the atomic bomb.” I loved it!

I’ve long held an interest in the history of nuclear weapons, and seeing part of this story get a big budget Hollywood movie is a real treat.

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What’s inside a relay?

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Top down view of relay showing the circuit diagram of what is inside.
Top down view of relay showing the circuit diagram of what is inside.

Ever wonder what’s inside a RELAY?

These little electrically-powered switches allow a low power circuit to control a high power circuit. They’re a big part of a lot of appliances that have a power button and you can often hear them switch on with an audible click.

This one is from my car and it is used to flash the lights when the headlights aren’t on. The big copper coil is an electromagnet. When the current through the coil is on, it creates a magnetic field that moves that little arm to close an electrical circuit.

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Come check out these excellent early career scientist-focused sessions at the APS March Meeting

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We’re super excited for the 2022 March Meeting and we at FECS have prepared a program of some excellent events focusing on the unique interests of early career scientists. Also keep an eye out for our table somewhere in the hallways. I hope to see you there!

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Cover of the book Hiroshima by John Hersey

Book Review: Hiroshima

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The discovery of nuclear weapons might be the most consequential discovery that physicists will ever make. If you disagree, you will certainly agree with my hope that this discovery does not become any more important. I believe physicists have a special responsibility to both understand the legacy of nuclear weapons and help society to prevent them from ever being used again.

Last September, I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, a deeply moving testament to the horrifying consequences of war. While I was there, I purchased this book. It’s short and excellent telling of the human impact of the bombing. I highly recommend it, especially for my fellow physicists.

HiroshimaHiroshima by John Hersey

My Goodreads rating: 5 of 5 stars

“A short and beautiful book focusing on the human tragedy of people affected by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the lives they built in the aftermath.”

Write your congressperson to support science during COVID-19

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APS President Phil Bucksbaum recently wrote a letter with recommendations for how congress can protect science during COVID-19 and ensure a quick recovery afterwards. “The letter’s recommendations include: providing grantees full or partial cost extensions, ensuring the supplemental funding necessary to restart labs and experiments is provided, and substantially increasing REU funding for Summer 2021.”

APS is also organizing a letter-writing campaign to call Congress’s attention to this issue. They’re provided a easy-to-use tool where you can plug in your voting address, sign your letter (and add some of your own thoughts) and they will send it off to your congressperson and senators. It takes less than five minutes and it makes a huge difference. On narrow issues like this, you letter might be the only one your elected official receives!

Sign and send your letter now!

iaizzi

March 6, 2019

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I just finished presenting my March Meeting talk, Infinite boundary conditions as a current source for impurity conductance in a quantum wire. Slides here.

 

 

March Meeting 2019

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I’m about to set off to Boston for the APS March Meeting 2019 (March 4-8). I’ll be presenting my newest work on using infinite boundary conditions are current reservoirs for measuring steady-state currents in quantum wires using tensor network methods. My talk is at Wednesday 6 March at 8:48am in room 156C. If you want to chat with me at the March Meeting drop me a line.

After the March Meeting I’ll be visiting the Sandvik group at Boston University 11-20 March. I’m really looking forward to seeing all my old friends and colleagues at BU.