#physics

See tagged statuses in the local Rambling Readers community

Pioneers in artificial intelligence win the Nobel Prize in physics.

From @AssociatedPress: "John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton won the [prize] for helping create the building blocks of machine learning that is revolutionizing the way we work and live but also creates new threats to humanity, one of the winners said. Hinton, who is known as the Godfather of artificial intelligence, is a citizen of Canada and Britain who works at the University of Toronto and Hopfield is an American working at Princeton."

https://flip.it/cf_Rrb

For ongoing coverage, follow @the-age-of-ai-tech

"Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it."

Danish physicist Niels Bohr was born in 1885.

Bohr made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr was also a philosopher and a promoter of scientific research.

The Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen was inaugurated March 3, 1921, by Bohr.

Niels Bohr at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Niels+Bohr&submit_search=Go%21

Niels Bohr, physicist. The American Institute of Physics credits the photo to AB Lagrelius & Westphal, which is the Swedish company used by the Nobel Foundation for most photos of its book series Les Prix Nobel. - Niels Bohr's Nobel Prize biography, from 1922

in 1905.

Albert Einstein publishes the third of his Annus Mirabilis papers, introducing the special theory of relativity, which used the universal constant speed of light c to derive the Lorentz transformations.

There are some controversies on the question of the extent to which Mileva Marić contributed to the insights of Einstein's annus mirabilis publications

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annus_mirabilis_papers#

On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66944

Einstein, Albert (30 June 1905). "Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper" [On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies] (PDF). Annalen der Physik (in German). 17 (10): 891–921.

replied to Project Gutenberg's status

"ALL THIS IS A DREAM. Still examine it by a few experiments. Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature; and in such things as these, experiment is the best test of such consistency."

Laboratory journal entry #10,040 (19 March 1849); published in The Life and Letters of Faraday (1870) Vol. II, edited by Henry Bence Jones, p. 248.

~Michael Faraday (22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867)

English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday was born in 1791.

Faraday discovered that a changing magnetic field could induce an electric current in a wire, laying the foundation for the concept of the electromagnetic field. He formulated the fundamental laws of electrolysis; he was the inventor of the Faraday cage and he discovered the Faraday effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday

Books about or by Michael Faraday at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Michael+Faraday&submit_search=Search

Faraday holding a type of glass bar he used in 1845 to show magnetism affects light in dielectric material. Michael Faraday. Photographed in the 1850s by Maull and Polyblank as part of their 'Living Celebrities' series. The Faraday volume was published in October 1857. In this photograph, Faraday is captured with a formal yet dignified demeanor, dressed in traditional Victorian attire—a dark suit with a high-collared white shirt and cravat, reflecting the fashion of the mid-19th century. His face bears a thoughtful expression, with slightly furrowed brows, suggesting the intensity and curiosity of his intellectual life. Faraday's hair is carefully styled, typical of the period, with his receding hairline and sideburns prominently visible. His expression is calm, but his eyes convey sharp intelligence and deep concentration.
Faraday holding a type of glass bar he used in 1845 to show magnetism affects light in dielectric material. Michael Faraday. Photographed in the 1850s by Maull and Polyblank as part of their 'Living Celebrities' series. The Faraday volume was published in October 1857. In this photograph, Faraday is captured with a formal yet dignified demeanor, dressed in traditional Victorian attire—a dark suit with a high-collared white shirt and cravat, reflecting the fashion of the mid-19th century. His face bears a thoughtful expression, with slightly furrowed brows, suggesting the intensity and curiosity of his intellectual life. Faraday's hair is carefully styled, typical of the period, with his receding hairline and sideburns prominently visible. His expression is calm, but his eyes convey sharp intelligence and deep concentration.

Scottish chemist and physicist James Dewar was born in 1842.

He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied atomic and molecular spectroscopy, working in these fields for more than 25 years. Dewar was nominated for the Nobel Prize 8 times — 5 times in Physics and 3 times in Chemistry — but he never succeeded in winning it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dewar

James Dewar in the Royal Institution in London, around 1900. Dewar’s expression in such photographs is usually one of deep concentration or mild seriousness, reflecting his dedication to scientific inquiry. He is often dressed in formal attire, wearing a dark suit or frock coat typical of the period, which adds to the impression of professionalism and authority. Dewar's hair in these photographs is generally short and well-kept, with a full mustache, which was typical of men in the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. Dewar is standing with a hand holding a scientific instrument.
James Dewar in the Royal Institution in London, around 1900. Dewar’s expression in such photographs is usually one of deep concentration or mild seriousness, reflecting his dedication to scientific inquiry. He is often dressed in formal attire, wearing a dark suit or frock coat typical of the period, which adds to the impression of professionalism and authority. Dewar's hair in these photographs is generally short and well-kept, with a full mustache, which was typical of men in the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. Dewar is standing with a hand holding a dewar.

The lectures from this year's International Congress of Mathematical Physics in Strasbourg, France, are online now.

Here's the talk “E10 and K(E10): searching for a fundamental symmetry of physics” by Hermann Nicolai, director emeritus at the @mpi_grav in Potsdam, head of the ERC-funded research group “Exceptional Quantum Gravity”.

🎞️ https://www.canalc2.tv/video/16721

ℹ️ https://www.aei.mpg.de/306486/exceptional-quantum-gravity

French physicist Léon Foucault was born in 1819.

He is best known for his demonstration of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of Earth's rotation. With Hippolyte Fizeau he carried out a series of investigations on the intensity of the light of the sun, as compared with that of carbon in the arc lamp, and of lime in the flame of the oxyhydrogen blowpipe. His is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on_Foucault

Foucault Pendulum. Pendulum for Showing the Rotation of the Earth. A print of the Foucault Pendulum, 1895 T. O'Conor Sloane - Facts Worth Knowing Selected Mainly from the Scientific American for Household, Workshop, and Farm Embracing Practical and Useful Information for Every Branch of Industry.
The first photograph of the Sun was made by Léon Foucault and Hippolyte Fizeau on 2 April 1845 in Paris, France. Hippolyte Fizeau, Léon Foucault - http://time.com/3807904/first-photograph-of-the-sun/
Portrait of Léon Foucault french physicist, astronomer(1819–1868). Photograph by Bertall & Cie. Foucault’s face is often characterized by a calm, serious expression, fitting for a scientist of his stature. His features, which include a high forehead and prominent nose, reflect the intellectual rigor and curiosity that drove his scientific work. Foucault is depicted wearing formal attire, typically a dark coat and a high-collared shirt, as was customary for gentlemen and scholars in the 19th century. Foucault is often portrayed with neatly styled hair, parted at the side, and a well-groomed beard or mustache. Foucault is seated or standing in a formal pose with a book in his left hand.
Foucault's determination of the relative speed of light in air vs water. Light from a passing through a slit (not shown) is reflected by mirror m (rotating clockwise around c) towards the concave spherical mirrors M and M'. Lens L forms images of the slit on the surfaces of the two concave mirrors. The light path from m to M is entirely through air, while the light path from m to M' is mostly through a water-filled tube T. Lens L' compensates for the effects of the water on the focus. The light reflected back from mirrors M and M' is diverted by a beam splitter towards an eyepiece O. If mirror m is stationary, both images of the slit reflected by M and M' reform at position α. If mirror m is rapidly rotating, light reflected from M forms an image of the slit at α' while light reflected from M' forms an image of the slit at α". The experiment demonstrated that light travels more slowly through water than air. Thus, it disproved Newton's hypothesis that Snell's Law results from an increase in the speed of ballistic light particles as they crossed an air/water interface, and gave what was considered to be definitive support of the wave theory of light. Léon Foucault (18 September 1819 – 11 February 1868) - This is Figure 3 from Sur les vitesses relatives de la lumière dans l'air et dans l'eau / par Léon Foucault (1853).