The Physics of Top Gun
Recently, I had the chance to watch Top Gun: Maverick, the thrilling sequel to the iconic 1986 film. At the end of the movie I thought I could quickly put…
Dyson Spheres and Carl Sagan’s Golden Rule
Thanks to recent astronomical observations the topic of Dyson spheres is back in the limelight. What are they and what caused this renewed interest? Dyson Spheres Dyson spheres would be…
6 Project Management Lessons from the Mars Climate Orbiter Failure
In September 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter probe crashed into Mars due to a mismatch between the measurement units used in different parts of the trajectory control software. Subsequent investigations…
The Rise, Fall, and Comeback of the Cosmological Constant
Just 100 years ago Einstein introduced the so-called cosmological constant, the physical constant that perhaps has experienced the most changing fortunes. The Rise In 1915 Einstein published the field equations…
The Balloon in the Car and General Relativity
Today we are going to speculate on a particular experiment anyone can do with a car and a helium-inflated balloon. The set-up is quite simple: fix the balloon to the…
3 Amazing Properties of Rotating Black Holes
3 amazing properties of rotating black holes: non planar orbits, energy extraction, time travel.