1) If I take a mossbauer spectrum of Fe-57 in a natural sample (i.e. about 2% Fe-57 and the rest Fe-somethingelse), I can successfully change the relative intensities of the Zeeman-split 14.4 keV lines with an external magnetic field ( Read more... )

holy crap, scott hughes left me a comment on my blog! I am so cool.

blog, not livejournal.

Damn, it is startling to realize how large a portion of my weekly social interaction came from banter with Mo & other groups in Jlab. Who am I supposed to talk to now? Where am I supposed to go on Fridays ( Read more... )

Hot damn, stat mech is awesome. So why was 8.044 so thorougly awful?

Equally awesome is having friends who are a) hot, b) literate, and c) majored in humanities and will tell me cool things about not-physics. Mm.

I wasn't sure whether I was registered to vote in Mass or AZ, so I had to call and check. Turns out I'm still Massachusettsian, which is good. But somehow my birthdate is officially listed as Jan. 1, 1804...the guy on the phone was a little confused.

Take that, plep.

Damn, that was a LONGASS 8.05 midterm. I need to learn how to do speedy physics, such that I can do an 8.05 set in ~2 hours, so that when a pset's worth of problems masquerade as an exam, I can finish it. Except I'm not hella speedy AT ALL. Hmph ( Read more... )

Inexplicably and unexpectedly, probably irredeemably and completely indefensibly, I REALLY LIKE JLab.  In regards to which, WTF, self? You don't particularly like experiments, and you don't particularly care about data, and verifying physical constants doesn't give you any great kick -- and yet you still get all crazy gleeful sitting there ( Read more... )

Being talkative is exhausting.

From the "syllabus" section of the website for my Ancient Greek class:

" The primary focus of Swahili A is to develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Aspects of Swahili/African culture will be introduced and highlighted as necessary components towards achieving communicative competence."

Hm. Wonder which language I'll get

Sometimes I leave a quantum lecture or enter Jlab with a weird visceral joy. It's like knowing an excellent secret, like having a whole day alone, like sneezing, but not quite. And it only comes from physics, and I have no idea why.