Author Archives: The Physicist

Q: What causes friction? (and some other friction questions)

Physicist: Political conversations with family, for one. “Friction” is a blanket term to cover all of the wide variety of effects that make it difficult for one surface to slide past another. There a some chemical bonds (glue is an … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Physics | 2 Comments

Q: Is fire a plasma? What is plasma?

Physicist: Generally speaking, by the time a gas is hot enough to be seen, it’s a plasma. The big difference between regular gas and plasma is that in a plasma a fair fraction of the atoms are ionized.  That is, … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Physics | 10 Comments

Q: Why are determinants defined the weird way they are?

Physicist: This is a question that comes up a lot when you’re first studying linear algebra.  The determinant has a lot of tremendously useful properties, but it’s a weird operation.  You start with a matrix, take one number from every … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Math | 6 Comments

Q: Are white holes real?

Physicist: The Big Bang is sometimes described as being a white hole.  But if you think of a  white hole as something that’s the opposite of a black hole, then no: white holes aren’t real. They show up when you … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Math, Physics | 4 Comments

Q: If a photon doesn’t experience time, then how can it travel?

Physicist: It’s a little surprising this hasn’t been a post yet. In order to move from one place to another always takes a little time, no matter how fast you’re traveling.  But “time slows down close to the speed of … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Relativity | 47 Comments

Q: What is energy? What is “pure energy” like?

Physicist: Unfortunately, “pure energy” isn’t really a thing.  Whenever you hear someone talking about something or other being “turned into pure energy”, you’re listening to someone who could stand to be a little more specific about what kind of energy.  … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Physics | 3 Comments