Dmitry Podolsky has got his PhD from Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics. He currently works as postdoc at Case Western Reserve University. He is also one of the editors of NEQNET.

307. Scientist’s gadgets: Tablet PC and handwriting formulae recognition

As usual, on Sunday I’ll try to feed you with as less technicalities as possible but still make the post useful for you… Today the subject of our discussion will be related to Tablet PCs and functionality they offer to a scientist (in particular, to a theoretical physicist). As far as I remember, Steven Jobs [...]

306. Video of the day: Stanford’s mobile phone orchestra

That’s apparently what they do in Stanford when they don’t study general relativity

305. First two weeks of March on NEQNET

Here is a comprehensive list of physics questions and problems we have discussed here on NEQNET during previous two weeks: 1. String theory, field theory, quantum gravity 1.1. Chiral symmetry breaking in soft wall AdS/QCD model, where Tom Kelley (U. of Minnesota) shows how explicit and spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking takes place in a particular [...]

304. Science in Watchmen. How Ozymandias prevented Dr. Manhattan from seeing the future

If you have already seen “Wathchmen” (and/or have read the Moore’s graphic novel), recall that one of the main pillars of the storyline is the fact that Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) used generators of tachyons located in his playboy hideout in Antarctica to prevent Dr. Manhattan from seeing the future and being able to affect Veidt’s [...]

303. Video of the day: Susskind’s lecture on general relativity 6

Just released… Previous lectures from the course can be found here. In this lecture (almost 2 hours!), Susskind discusses geodesics, parallel transport and curvature tensor.

300. Event horizon of Sgr A*

Dear friends, I am really sorry for leaving you without a physics post (the video clearly cannot be counted ) – the reason was my faulty internet connection. The post that you will see below was almost ready but I wanted to make a short last check before it gets posted, and that’s when my [...]

299. Video of the day: Why gravity is weak

It seems I did not post those for quite a long time… Another promo video about string theory – enjoy

290. Last two weeks of February on NEQNET

February (and long cold winter!) has finally come to the end, and, if by a chance, you were unable to visit us for the last two weeks, here is what the buzz was about at NEQNET: 1. String theory, field theory, quantum gravity 1.1. Hamiltonian formulation of tetrad gravity: three dimensional case, where Natalia Kiriushcheva [...]

281. Twitter updates for 2009-02-21

Importance of stupidity in scientific #research: http://jcs.biologists.org/cgi/…..21/11/1771 I feel stupid all the time… … but writing a paper about it seems bizarre idea Terence Tao on Hardy uncertainty principle: http://tinyurl.com/adbzjl Human eye could detect #entanglement at a distance: http://arxivblog.com/?p=1230 Unbelievable crap #Astronomy science fiction: http://tinyurl.com/cgajjx Pay-per-research: http://tinyurl.com/dlvyqx Evidence for the black hole event horizon: http://tinyurl.com/blxda5 [...]

280. An effect – could you explain the origin?

While watching “Iron man”, I’ve got interested by the following episode: while Mr. Stark flies to Afghanistan to destroy Al Qaeda hideouts, he apparently develops supersonic speed at some point – at list, I’ve clearly heard a shock wave. At the very moment the shock wave comes, a cone of mist is developed around him. [...]