OMG PHYSICS

Every now and then, it seems, I feel compelled to unleash my love of physics onto Al Gore's internet in the form of an overly enthusiastic livejournal post. So here:

Physics is so cool that I sometimes get kind of unnerved about it. Like, this is almost a physical sensation of fear. I just sat through a talk on Bose-Einstein condensation and I must have looked like a douchebag because literally, my mouth was hanging open in awe at some points.

I want to know more about this stuff, but I can't even formulate questions to ask because I'm too taken aback by the awesomeness. I could have talked to the prof who gave the talk on my way to get a chocolate muffin (because clearly sugar is going to help me calm down) because he was going the same way, but I didn't, because I was afraid that if I tried I'd just say "MATTER WAVES! ATOMS! QUANTUM COMPUTING! JKFDAJKSF!"



Physics is so cool that I could just...punch myself in the face.



And then analyze the momentum transfer of the punch, or something.


sampiano, you said this to me once re: areas of physics, specifically grand unified theory/elementary particle/high energy physics (my interest at the time) vs. condensed matter:

I'm in the opposite sort of theoretical physics: superconductors, carbon nanotubes, novel materials, that sort of thing.

Personally, I prefer this area: you can make definite predictions about definite materials, and we have as many strange particles and ideas as the high unified-field-theory people. For example, in very strongly anistotropic materials, interacting electrons behave like bosons. Wierd eh?

However, the condensed matter physicists do very little to 'sex it up', and when I was young(er), my initial attraction was towards unified field theories and the like also.

I'm now tending to agree with you on the coolness of condensed matter and most likely heading towards the field myself. And condensed matter physicists don't need to do anything to sex things up. Because condensed matter physics is HOT.

Uh, except for, you know, how it's usually really cold. Right.