Precision here implies repetition of measurement to minimize deviation of the average result of the measurements from the expected value of physics quantity. Such deviation is normally caused by random (stochastic) errors. Nonetheless, this average value may still appreciably … Continue reading
By the end of the 19th century, it became clear from the development of chemistry that substances are composed of atoms. Guesses about their existence arose earlier, in ancient Greek science, from the desire to give nature a coherent … Continue reading
Einstein noted the unthinkable tenacity with which Kepler sought harmony in the motion of planets, while around Kepler, on Earth, there was not even a suggestion of harmony. To begin with, he was born prematurely, then contracted smallpox yet … Continue reading
Behind the Iron Curtain, Soviet physicists worked actively and nevertheless made a number of fundamental discoveries. At first, however, they were not isolated from the world — they learned from and worked with European scientists. One of the founding … Continue reading
Nowadays, we are transmitting colossal streams of data, including cellular and Wi-Fi, using ultra-high frequency electromagnetic waves. This had began in 1820, with the discovery of Oersted and Ampere that the movement of a charge in a conductor creates … Continue reading
In the III century BC, Aristarchus of Samos had concluded that the Earth and other planets orbit around the Sun. He also guessed about the rotation of the Earth around its own axis. However, it took a millennium and … Continue reading
It started with the fact that the ancient Greek scientist Hipparchus compiled a star catalog in the century II BC. He subdivided the stars into classes according to their brightness. Then, after three centuries, Ptolemy in his scientific treatise … Continue reading
About irreversible processes… The everyday experience seems to tell us that time differs from the spatial dimensions on having a direction from the past to the future. Therefore, in the first half of the XX century, Arthur Edington has introduced … Continue reading
On the mind demons… To put things in order, as is well known, you need to do some work. In thermodynamics, this (second) law is expressed in the fact that the disorder of molecule motion in a container with gas, … Continue reading
About the aggressiveness of video Video games clearly show the current level of computer technology — their software is able to eat the most modern video hardware. Therefore, those who find pleasure in the illusory world of computer games need … Continue reading
On peculiarities of discussion Despite the fact that the fundamental physics is an exact science, under the guise of scientists a kind of demagogues can be found there. All that they are interested in science, it’s a personal benefit. In … Continue reading
Trying to do without the perception through feelings The searches for a hypothetical tachyon particle were active at the end of the last century. It was expected that when moving through a detector, a charged tachyon would leave no trace … Continue reading
Desperately encountering the light barrier Rebellious idea of particles faster than light has naturally arose with the knowledge of the special role of the speed of light as a limit up to which anything massive could be accelerated in our … Continue reading
On a pleasant discovery The discovery of the fourth kind of quarks named charmed (or c) quark in 1974 has suggested this isn’t all and reinforced the belief that there should be at least two another kinds of heavy quarks … Continue reading
Craving for harmony As elsewhere, there are very different characters. Some get from physics just exercises for their intelligence, which gives them the fullness of life, as sport for a body. They feel like they are involved in the esoteric … Continue reading
On trust to the own imagination Without the knowledge accumulated in centuries, one fails even to make a step in physics. On the other hand, without the imagination, how can you perceive new things that are absolutely unknown yet. Therefore, … Continue reading
About the adventures of a hadron in matter Initially the hadron will fly in the substance without incident, just ripping electrons from orbits on its way if this is a charged hadron, such as a proton or pion. But when … Continue reading
About the commitment to discover the neutrinoless conversion Following the discovery of neutrino oscillations, experiments on the search for neutrinoless muon-to-electron conversion have started in the United States and Japan. Such a conversion would violate the customary law of conservation … Continue reading
On the difficulties a lonely lepton In conversions of elementary particles into each other, the total electric charge of the particles before conversion is equal to that after. If electrons, muons, tau-leptons or neutrinos are involved in the conversion, similarly … Continue reading
About sophisticated stuffing of elementary particle with a hadron charge inside Well, at first they thought protons and neutrons that make up nuclei of atoms of matter are indivisible particles. That’s why they call them fundamental, but when in 1968 … Continue reading
On simulation of status of a star In order to build an expensive detector for experiments at accelerators or in space, one should carefully calculate the response it gives to elementary particles trapped in it. Here, the nature has prepared … Continue reading