Euler’s Conjecture
We were reading a bedtime story, from the book “17 Equations that Changed the World” and Simon told me about how a computer disproved Euler’s Conjecture. I was surprised at … Continue reading Euler’s Conjecture
Tag: homeschooling
Newtonian GPS would place you on the wrong planet!
Simon explains why our modern satellite navigation (the Global Positioning System or GPS) is a great experimental proof for Einstein’s relativity theory and what would happen if the software calculated … Continue reading Newtonian GPS would place you on the wrong planet!
Physics Experiments: No Spill?
Simon trying to build a device that allows to carry a cup without spilling the liquid, i.e. with a minimum lateral acceleration to the cup. Extra footage of us having … Continue reading Physics Experiments: No Spill?
Geomag Gravity Engine
Simon is very interested in gravity engines, especially since he learned that such engines are being used in real life as safe alternatives in remote areas with no power supply … Continue reading Geomag Gravity Engine
Salle Pi
Simon talking about his favourite infinite sum at the circular room known as the “pi room” at the Palais de la Découverte (“Discovery Palace”) in Paris. Inscribed on the walls … Continue reading Salle Pi
What are exams good for?
“I can see that your son has native speaker skills, but we still cannot give him a passing grade”, the English examinator told me in an apologetic tone of voice. … Continue reading What are exams good for?
About Maxwell
Simon: You can derive the speed of light from Maxwell’s equations. Me: Because they used to think it was infinite, right? Simon: Maxwell’s equations aren’t invariant to the Galilean transformation, … Continue reading About Maxwell
More quantum physics: quarks hit by photons and what does a z boson do?
Simon told me about strong force and what happens to a quark inside a nucleon if a high energy photon hits it and pushes it outside the nucleon: a new … Continue reading More quantum physics: quarks hit by photons and what does a z boson do?
The Lorentz factor
Simon has just graphed this to show how the Lorentz factor or gamma ( on the y axis) is dependent on the speed of the object (the x axis). The … Continue reading The Lorentz factor
Geeks out of the box 