1
MOMENTUMAn NUS Physics Society Publication
This place is huge!!
Wonder what we built it
(LHC) for?
2
President’s Foreword
We have indeed, been fortunate to enjoy an increase in
participation at these events, especially from the student
body. Certainly, this success could not have been achieved
without the support and collective contribution of my dearest
committee members. They have truly been a joy to work with
over the period of my presidency, and I cannot but thank them
for all that they have been both to me as well as to Physoc.
Our mission is twofold: to cater to the needs of the Physics Majors, and also,
to act as a bridge between staff and students, such that relationships will
festival celebrations like the Mid-Autumn and Chinese New Year Festival,
sports activities, like the Staff and Students’ Games, as well as multiple
other events such as, among others, the Freshmen Orientation, lab tours,
career talks, and also the preparation of Past Year Paper solutions.
It is indeed an honor to be given the opportunity to lead the 22nd committee
of the NUS Physics Society (Physoc) in the Academic Year 2008/09. In
my term as president, I have gained invaluable experience in leadership,
Physoc has also been regularly participating in the Physics Department’s outreach programs,
with hopes that these would cultivate interest in Physics. During the Science 80th Anniversary
celebration, Physoc demonstrated really cool and intriguing experiments as well as fascinating
JC students. Through these, we hoped to share the wonders of Physics with the participants and
to encourage them to apply their knowledge creatively in solving problems in contexts outside
the classroom.
in choosing Physics as your major. There’s a lot to learn here in university, and it’s virtually
impossible for us to master everything that we’re taught from matriculation to graduation.
learn, and that, is a lifelong skill which will stay with you forever…given that you have the
correct learning attitude, of course =).
I shall end my address with a quote from Richard Feynman:
We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple
with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do
what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on.
Haw Jing Yan
President
Physics Society
Physics Department
National University of Singapore
3
Greetings, fellow friends and readers of the Momentum magazine!
First of all, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our all our “newbies” into the world of Physics. And to the seniors, welcome back! To the fellow staff, gradu-ate students, post-docs, and professors, I’m sure there is something in this magazine that will engage your inter-est too, as we have strived to make it enjoyable and use-ful to everyone in the Physics Community.
This magazine is prepared by the collective efforts of the 22nd Committee of NUS Physics Society (2008/09), and here we are in the back-ground!
Editors’ Foreword
Contents
Physics Modules 4
Physics @ NUS :Survival Guide 6
Large Hadron Collid-er (LHC) 9
Of Photons and Falling Elevators 13
For those Who Are Bored... 15
3D Stereogram 19
The Importance of Buzzwords... 21
Witnessing the Bang - The Renaissanceof Sitcoms 22
3
4
5
66
Editor’s note: Below are good advices that came
from 4 years of experiences of our senior Chang.
Follow them, and you’ll be one step closer to be
a good physicist!
Coping Strategies
It’s true that sometimes, the going can get really tough. That’s why we’ve put together some tips on how to make your NUS Physics experience as enjoyable and as illuminating as possible =)
(a) Talk to your seniors
A great place to get information is from this fantastic group of people; they will be quite happy to give you module reviews, bidding tips, help with assignments, recommendations, entertainment… you name it! And where and how would you meet them? At S13-02-08 (Our headquarters =P ), or attending the Physics Society’s events!!! You could also talk to the lab demonstrators (who are honors-year students) and ask them anything you like. (They don’t bite… much. =) )
(b) Consult your professors
Most of the physics professors (and teaching
assistants) are very friendly, and quite willing to help you (provided you can understand their accents =P ). Just drop them a line if you have any doubts or queries. Alternatively, pay them a
(unless they aren’t in, or have other visitors.)
(c) Crash physics lectures (no, we don’t mean your own…)
you aren’t sure what to do, this is an interesting way to spend it. While you may not understand much, you will still get a general feel of higher level physics modules. This might help you decide later on what to take for your electives.
(d) Get yourself a study group
As your grandma would have told you a long time ago, more heads are better than one. Studying together would not only help you understand your subject matter better, but also, it’d be fun! The usual spots for studying are, of course, the libraries, but in Physics, the teaching labs and its general vicinity are also at your
don’t want a study group, come to the Physics Society room, at S13-02-08. You’re certainly most welcome!
(e) Learn your mathematics well and remember them
Remembering your math is really crucial… You’ll
for in-depth math, the department offers 2 more mathematical physics modules. If you think these aren’t enough either, the Math department offers a smorgasbord of modules to choose from. Enjoy!
Physics @ NUS : Survival GuideWritten by Chang Sheh Lit,
Edited by Vinodhini M. Selveindran,Given by Haw Jing Yan
77
(f) Problem solving strategies
Problem solving strategies are quite important to have… so, to help you along, we’ve highlighted two good places to get ideas from:
(i) http://www.oberlin.edu/physics/dstyer/SolvingProblems.html
(ii) http://www.physics.uci.edu/undgrad/Survival.pdf
(g) Practice past year papers
You can always access any past year papers for your modules from the NUS Library (http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/) website by just logging
exams. However, if the professor for the class
end may look different from the past years. Nevertheless, it gives you a good opportunity to practice.
The Physics Society does keep an archive of the solutions for past year papers, prepared by the kind and helpful seniors in the committee. The solutions for the core modules will usually be uploaded onto the Physics Society website just a few weeks before the exams (you all can download it for free). However, solutions to the elective modules may not be complete and we welcome answer-contributions from anybody who have taken the elective modules. In any case, we welcome your feedback at [email protected]
Research at NUS
One good way to try it out would be the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in Science (UROPS). You’ll get to work under a physics professor on a real research project, allowing you to decide if you really love the rush
on this program, you’ll have to approach a professor, who will give you a project to work on. If you produce phenomenal new results, you may even have a chance to have your article published in a journal!
Before you really start your research, the professor will let you know about the research that you are going for, so that you know what you are expecting.
The idea of research in your area of interest can be really cool! But how do you know if you’re cut out for it?
Good things to know beforehand
Computers have become part of our lives, including us physicists. Theoretical physicists use them for modeling and simulations, while experimentalists perform data analysis to generate meaningful results. Programming is
you an edge in research. You could always take modules from the School of Computing (e.g., C language, C++, Java etc)
Familiarity with mathematical software such
88
as MatLab, and Mathematica could also prove useful. Never heard of them? Just ask your teaching assistants for a copy to play around with.
The knowledge of electronics can be a plus if you have it, as this will prevent you from short circuiting the components, resulting in the temporary shutdown of the instruments in the whole block. (True story o.O )
Another thing to note is that professors are often willing to take in undergraduates with the correct attitude, and who are knowledgeable in lab safety as well as the expensive machinery we use in our labs. So, there’s no need to worry about lack of experience, because most of it can be taught. =)
Where do I begin?
Again, UROPS is a good starting point. If you’re interested, check your NUS email for circulars that inform of registration deadlines. Another option would be to take up a temporary job during the summer holidays (May-July) with a research group. It is quite important to be willing to approach professors, though, so these are a few pointers you might want to consider.
However, you must know that opportunities to do research are always there, you need to take your own initiative to get involved. One thing you can be sure is that there are professors who are willing to hire students, and they are waiting for you to approach them, so just make your presence known to them.
Here are some tips we would like to offer:
(i) Talk to professors
If you want to work with your lecturer, just drop them an email to introduce yourself, make an
doors to let them know you are interested. Don’t be shy to ask them whether they have temporary positions for you or not. If you want to know
physics departmental website.
ii) Be inquisitive
Ask your tutors, who are mostly physics department alumni, what they might be doing in their particular lines of research. Similarly, you could always quiz the friendly lab demonstrators about their research projects or their ongoing honors year projects.
(iii) Attend departmental seminars
Look out for upcoming seminars that might feature an area of interest. There are usually posters and things at the notice board outside the S13 lift. This is also the site of the Physics Society notice board!!
(iv) Consult your academic mentor
When in doubt, talk to your assigned academic mentor. They would probably be able to help you see things with a little bit more clarity and also, could recommend professors who you could work with.
9
alpinekat, but with more words and explanations.
Though it might not be as fun as the song, after reading
it, you’ll be able to enjoy the song better as you would
be able to understand more of what is going on.
Nested below the ground, at the border
27-kilometer long body is capable of shooting two
the Universe and the most energetic collision since
the beginning of time will happen right in the four
eyes of the giant when the beams meet. Right now
fault, but it will wait a few more months when its
roar will be heard, and the mysteries of the Universe
Hadrons are subatomic particles that subject to
the strong force. One example of such heavy hadrons
are lead ions (with atomic number 82), stripped
smashing such large hadrons with each other, hence
the name. This baby can pack up to 14 TeV into
proton-proton collision, and 1150 TeV into lead-lead
collision. And its four “eyes” are called A Large
Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE), Large Hadron
Collider beauty (LHCb), Compact Muon Solenoid
(CMS), and A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS (ATLAS).
Probably the biggest structure humans have
build in the last thousand years, this baby cost so
much that international collaboration is needed. It
has reached over 5 million viewers. The questions in
physics that might be answered by it are so big that
over 10 thousand scientists and engineers are working
on it. Indeed the only reason that the behemoth is built
fundamental particles than quarks and leptons, if nature
Large Hadron Collider (LHC)By Ng Xin Zhao
9
10
matter and antimatter do not exist in the same amount.
see why they are considered important, starting with
the Higgs boson. To understand the Higgs, we must
understand the Standard Model which is currently
the most accurate physics theory that has successfully
predicted all of the subatomic particles found in
previous accelerators. In particular, the story of the
W and Z bosons are of interesting consequences.
In the standard model, there are four fundamental
forces with three of them united with an accurate
quantum mechanical description. Among them, the
electromagnetic force and the weak nuclear force are
In this theory, the carriers for the weak nuclear force,
two W-bosons and Z-boson, are predicted and found a
theory, physicists assumed that the carriers of the weak
force are massless bosons, and deduced from the theory
4 massless bosons, 3 for the weak force and the photon.
To account for the mass of the W and Z bosons, Peter
that is everywhere and interacts with particles to give
them rest mass. Just like alpinekat rapped,
“Some particle slows down and others race,
straight through like the photon, it has no mass, but
something heavy like the top quarks, it’s dragging its-
--”
It is kind of like adding air resistance to projectile
that a particle is associated with it. The Higgs boson
becomes central to the Standard Model for being able
to neatly explain the origin of mass. It is for this reason
that the presence of Higgs bosons is a very popular
theory. Being the only particle in the Standard Model
that has not yet been observed only adds excitment to
and heavy Higgs boson actually exists. The interesting
numerous other less popular theories would then be able
One such other theory is the preon theory, that
quarks and leptons are composed of smaller, more
fundamental particles called preons. Currently, the
that they are smaller than 10-18
enables us to see at smaller scales, down to 2*10-19
made of smaller stuffs, like preons. It is also tempting
to think that there can be a simple explanation for the
three families of quarks and leptons observed, as history
had shown that the periodic table of elements hints of
radioactivity and atoms changing from one to another
hints at a nuclear structure with protons and neutrons,
not unsimilar to the decay of heavy elementary particle
like top quarks and tau into their lighter counterparts.
10
11
Whatever the hints and possibilities, without an
experimental observation of preons, all we can do is to
wait and see.
build for, it is time for the giant to shed light on what
we think is possible. SUperSYmmetry (SUSY) is a
principle that states for every fermion (particles with
quarks and leptons) there is a corresponding boson
(particles with integer spin and can occupy the same
space with the same energy like photons) and vice-
versa so we have electrons and selectrons, photons
and photinos. It is symmetric because when we
switch the bosons and fermions, the world is still the
same. However, since none of the supersymmetric
partners have been found yet, it is clearly not a perfect
symmetry in terms of mass like matter-antimatter.
One would say that supersymmetry is absurd;
if all the electrons are replaced by selectrons that can
pass through each other, imagine what will happen to
molecules. However, there are many theories that can
make use of supersymmetry to explain various things.
electromagnetic, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear
force converge to almost the same strength at around 1015
GeV (compared to 100GeV of electroweak bonding).
However, the three forces do not exactly meet at one
point. But with supersymmetry, the three forces cut
exactly and there is a possible explanation of why the
(GUT and electroweak) happen at so
large an energy gap. More than that, if supersymmetric
there is the lightest supersymmetric p
Therefore, if supersymmetry is true, there will be
Talking about dark matter, it is not a matter that
because it is matter that does not glow, therefore
escaping the observation of telescopes. However there
is a double meaning to it, dark also means that we do
not know much of anything about it, or, that we have
bet. Why not just do away with the concept altogether
Well, the reason we need dark matter is to explain
how galaxies seem to be able to hold on to their galactic
arms of stars. The stars at the outer arms of galaxies are
moving too fast to be able to be gravitationally bounded
by the luminous matter in the galaxy. So MAssive
Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs) like black holes,
burned out stars, asteroids and stray planets are possible
candidates of dark matter, but Weakly Interactive
Massive P
11
12
Unfortunately, both MACHOs and neutrinos
encounter problems to be the dark matter needed
to explain the galaxy mystery. Using Gravitational
MACHO seems to be too little to account for the dark
matter needed. (Gravitational lensing happens when a
MACHO passes through the light path of a star, the
star appears to brighten for a while then it dimmed
back with certain characteristics.) Besides that, the
amount of baryonic particles that make up dark matter
is limited. Standard primordial nucleosynthesis pins
down the value of baryon-to-photon ratio and through
astronomical observation, the amount of dark matter
greatly exceeds the amount of baryonic particles in the
Universe. Neutrinos, on the other hand, are expected
oscillation. However they move near the speed of light
due to their small rest mass and according to computer
simulations, that is far too fast to make up dark matter.
All these tell us that we do not know a lot about dark
matter and therefore, we need more information
to test its properties to determine whether it is the
and CMS will use different designs and concepts
to look out for any supersymmetric particle, Higgs
boson, preons, or something else entirely different.
When we question what dark matter is, there
is a bigger question unresolved, why should there be
asymmetry between matter and antimatter, which is
still a mystery to physicists. In more formal terms, it
is called CP violations, or Charge-Parity violations.
coordinates, and matter is exactly the same as antimatter
except that both their charge and the direction of their
spin are opposite. That is why when CP-violation occurs,
it means that there is asymmetry between matter and
antimatter. In 1964, the decay in neutral kaons exhibits
a small CP-violation. However, physicists expected a
greater asymmetry in mesons involving bottom quarks.
More recently in 2004, Belle and BaBar, both electron-
positron colliders, discovered that the decay of neutral
B mesons, made up of bottom and down quarks, shows a
preference for matter 100000 times greater than kaons.
The antimatter bottom quarks are observed to be 20%
less than matter bottom quarks. Belle and BaBar are
for the decays involving the bottom quarks (once called
beauty quarks) to source out for more CP-violations in
order to deepen our understanding of the reason that we
are matter instead of all radiation.
spread a lot of energy over a large volume compared to
proton-proton collision. Having the collision energy of
1150 TeV, it can reach back and recreate the situations
just 10-12-10-6 seconds after the big bang (the quarks-
gluon plasma). Just like a transition phase from solid to
that cools down to bound quarks at 10-6 seconds after
study and help in the cosmological mapping of events
after the big bang.
there is nothing new
to be discovered in physics now, all that remains is more
and more precise measurement. However, more and
more precise measurements reveals newer physics that
no one can predict. And no one can predict what exactly
discredit others, it can answer some questions and/or
raise more, it might even alter the paradigm of physics.
Whatever it does, it will change the face of physics as
we know it.
if physics majors don’t know more than the average public readers
out there about the most exciting experiment in physics. This
article is written partly for that purpose in mind. The book that
The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Another book that
hope you enjoyed reading this.
12
13
It would not be an exaggeration to say that a lot of us
are familiar with the behavior of an object with mass m
of photons - something with no rest mass - that many
Believe it or not, many are skeptical about the effects
the case for the general public). How could something
will attempt to show that a beam of photons is not
entirely free from the effects of gravity, using some
imagination and (what we hope to be) convincing
explanations.
The concept of gravitational lensing is constantly
General Relativity, Newton had already conceived the
work, Opticks. Following that, an astronomer by the
name of Johann Georg van Soldner published a paper
regarding the topic in 1804, which unfortunately, went
largely unnoticed.
Diagram 1 The difference between the path of light as
Imagine this: there is an elevator free-falling in the
homogenously distributed in the area of the elevator.)
Inside the elevator, there is an observer by the name of
falling with it, she is not aware about the presence of
other end, hitting the mark ‘X’ on the wall. According
to her, the beam of light is travelling in a straight line.
=P
Of Photons and Falling Elevatorsby Thong May Han
14
light to be travelling in a straight line, Obs will see the
beam to be bent (as shown in Diagram 1). How is that
The answer lies in the fact that they are in different
frames of references. From Obs’s perspective, in the
time it takes the light to travel from one end of the
elevator to the other end, the elevator had ‘fallen’ down
the elevator is accelerating. However, despite that
order to prevent a paradox: the beam of light hits the
mark ‘X’ on the elevator wall.
Therefore, from Obs’s point of view, for the beam of
light to hit the ‘X’ mark, the light must follow a curved
path and not a straight line. In other words, the beam
should ‘experience free fall, along with the elevator
mass.
Gravitational Redshift/Blueshift
Redshifting is the phenomenon in which the wavelength
of an electromagnetic wave is shifted towards the
lower energy, or longer wavelength of the spectrum.
The name is derived from the fact that for the visible
light spectrum, red light has a longer wavelength than
that blueshift is the phenomenon in which the opposite
occurs.
Redshift and blue shift can occur for a number of
reasons, among which, as some of us would know,
gravity can result in the redshifting or blueshifting of
electromagnetic waves.
This time, instead of shining the beam of monochromatic
towards the ceiling. She will then see that the beam
of light reaches the ceiling in time t=d/c , where d =
distance travelled, and c = speed of light.
As for Obs, things are slightly different from his
perspective. Obs again observes that the elevator had
accelerated. Taking the elevator to be stationary at
the start of the whole experiment, the velocity of the
elevator after time t, as observed by Obs, would be
where g= gravitational acceleration.
Assuming that vt<<c , the fractional shift of frequency
t/c .
Hence, the fraction of the gravitational shift of the
monochromatic light is then given by
From the results above, we can see that for a beam
of light moving against gravitational acceleration, as
This means that the frequency of the monochromatic
light had decreased, and since the speed of light is
constant, this means that the wavelength of the light
redshift; if it had occurred in the other direction (i.e.
the beam is shining in the direction of the gravitational
acceleration), it would be the case of blueshift, where
the wavelength of the light decreases.
Now, given that the frequency of the light had changed,
it is only natural that the energy possessed by the
photons had changed as well. After all, the energy of
constant. Therefore, the change in the energy of the
photons is
t
gdv gt
c= =
2
tvf gd
f c c
2
gdhfE h f
c
1515
lose energy in the process of doing work against the
Our discussions above show that the amount of
redshift, as well as the change in energy experienced
by the photons is proportional to the mass of the body
proportional to M, the mass of the aforesaid body. If
we apply this concept to very massive objects, then it is
possible that we would reach a point in where photons
exhausting all its energy. This is the concept that leads
us to black holes, but we shall leave that for another
time. =D
References:
1. Roos, M. Introduction to Cosmology, Third
3. Hawley, J. F. Department of Astronomy,
-
trieved on 16th July 2009 from http://www.astro.
virginia.edu/~jh8h/glossary/redshift.htm
4. Bonometto, S.; Gorini, V.; Moschella, U.
Cosmology and Gravitation). 2002. IOP Publishing
5. Diagram 1: Improvised from diagram on
page 53, Roos, M. Introduction to Cosmology, Third
For those Who Are Bored...Here are some fun physics experiments for you to do and enjoy!!
by Ronald Wee
Sound
How these singers do manage to break glass with their
voice is due to them singing at the natural frequency of
the glass, which causes resonance (in which the glass
vibrates at a much higher amplitude than it usually can
and hence explodes).
Though I can’t teach you how to be a powerful singer
Warning, glass will break, be careful.
You will need:
1 x Your Dad’s Favourite
1 x Microphone, connected to a
1 x Set of Good Speakers
1 x Chopstick
Mask and Thick Clothes to protect yourself, just in
case
Plastic Wrap to wrap around and protect the
microphone and speakers from the broken glass
1616
How to do it:
Put the wine glass in-between the nice speakers, with
the microphone inside the glass.
Turn up the volume of the speakers (try to ignore the
feedback)
Tap the glass with the chopstick.
You should know what happens if you do it right. =)
(If you don't know, the glass will shatter beautifully,
and your dad will come screaming from wherever you
did this from =D )
P.S. Warning again, glass will break, be careful.
Heat
We will be having a little fun with something called the
than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating
vapor layer which keeps that liquid from boiling
rapidly. This is how you can put your hand into liquid
course, too long and the insulating layer will disappear,
and so will your hand =P)
Unfortunately, since most of us regular folks don’t have
liquid nitrogen or molten lead (if you do have either
of these, feel free to look up the web and see how to
play around with those, and be careful), we shall use
common household items instead.
You will need:
1 x Your Mom’s Favourite Frying Pan
=) )
Water
How to do it:
pan.
The droplets of water do not boil away quickly but will
bunch up into small balls of water and skitter around,
are still close to room temperature. Of course, prepare
Electricity
An electric motor is a device using electrical energy
to produce mechanical energy, usually found in fans,
vacuum cleaners, computer disk drives, et cetera. Of
make those kinds of stuff, we are doing something
simpler. =)
You will need:
1 x AA Battery
1 x Nail
1 x Neodymium Magnet
1 x Wire
How to do it:
Place the nail head on the magnet and centre it.
Attach the nail tip to the bottom of the battery.
Hold one end of the wire to the top of the battery.
If you did it right, you should have something like this:
1717
edge of the magnet.
Light
All of you reading this probably would know that the
speed of light in a vacuum is a constant 299 792 458
Well, not really of visible light, that one's a little
electromagnetic wave, in this case microwaves. This
experiment is not only simple, fun, informative, but it
Mmmm....
You will need:
1 x Microwave Oven. This oven has to be the type that
does not rotate. If there is a rotating table or mirror
or something like that inside, try to see if you can
remove it (while making sure you can put it back, of
should be around 30 cm or more. No metal plates, for
obvious reasons. =)
1 x 30 cm ruler.
that can melt, enough to cover the dish anyway. =)
How to do it:
Cover the entire plate with marshmallows and place it
in the oven.
Turn the oven on for about 30-60 secs (The power of
the oven used won't matter), just until you can see strips
of melted marshmallows appearing.
Take out the delicious plate of half melted marshmallow
and measure the distance between the middle of each
1818
melted strip. (Take more measurements and average
them out if you want your experiment to be more
accurate.)
of the microwaves in the oven, is about 12 cm.
manufacturer's label on the microwave oven. Most
Now that you have both the wavelength and the
light. =)
Then put the plate back in the oven to melt the whole
Gravity, Pressure and Buoyancy
This is a very simple experiment called the Cartesian
Diver, where we shall see gravity, Archimede's principle
and Pascal's principle at work. For those of you don't
know, the Cartesian Diver is an object in a bottle of
water, and it's distance from the surface of the water
can be manipulated by pressing the bottle containing
the diver.
This particular experiment is dedicated to all the hard
You probably know this already though. If you weren't
there, look this up, it is rather interesting.
You will need:
the Coca Cola company, those are quite easy to
1 x packet of sauce (Just go to McDonald's and take
some. =P )
How to do it:
the density of the packet of sauce is lighter than that of
the water surrounding it. (Try other sauce packets if it is
too dense) The force working in the opposite direction
as that of the weight of the packet of sauce is the buoyant
force, and this force is related to the volume of water
displaced by the packet of sauce. Now, close the bottle.
But how do you control the depth at which the packet
When you do so, as water is incompressible, the
is conveyed undiminished everywhere inside the bottle
and compressing the only thing that you can compress
inside the bottle. Which happens to be the air pockets in
the packet of sauce, which causes the volume of packet
of sauce to decrease and density to increase, causing it
to fall to the bottom to the bottle.
web for more interesting set-ups and exciting activities
*~*
1919
20
Figure 5: http://www.theathertons.info/wpcontent/uploads/2009/06/pisa tower stereogram.jpg
Figure 6: http://aimore.org/sketch/sketches.html
More Stereograms!Tiled patterns with hidden 3D images�
Figure 7: http://michael92.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/11/
Figure 8: http://forums.multiplay.co.uk/rants raves other
nonsense/69040 stereograms magic eye pics
ConclusionHope you have manage to view the 3D Stereogram samples. There are many online guides on how
to view a stereogram. The method that we�ve mentioned is only one of the many methods that we
found online, so do look at the other methods if this method doesn�t work for you.
Most of the information and images are taken from the website:
http://www.colorstereo.com/texts_.txt/practice.htm
Bored of 3D
Stereogram pictures?Try to search on YouTube:
�stereogram� !!!
Here are some useful websites regarding stereograms:
1. http://howtoviewstereograms.googlepages.com/
2. http://www.eyetricks.com/3dstereo.htm
3. http://www.lessons4living.com/relax1.htm
4. http://www.wikihow.com/View Stereograms
5. http://www.hidden 3d.com/
Let the 3D stereogram videos
surprise you!!!
20
2121
Once, during a gathering of old friends, we were
discussing about the modules we took. So I have a
friend who said that he has taken the module UIT2205
Accounting friend who knew nuts about quantum
twice removed.
“Stuff like quantum computing, quantum
cryptography, quantum teleportation...”
This exchange succinctly summarises the
impression the term “quantum teleportation” makes on
the layman, general public and starry-eyed physicist-
wannabes. However, for all those who know what
quantum teleportation really is, they will tell you that
this phenomena does not live up to the hype its name
conveys. Drop the idea of stepping into a machine at
around like Nightcrawler from X2 or David Rice from
Jumper. Indeed, during an ANU lecture (I was there on
exchange) where the lecturer showed mathematically
what is meant by this quantum teleportation, there
was a moment of silence as if there was pause in
time, followed by an incredulous ejaculation from one
This essay, however, is not about quantum
lecturers. The point I am trying to make is that quantum
teleportation is an innocent phrase that caught the
public’s imagination. And it is not a quack terminology:
quantum teleportation is, in a sense, an instantaneous
transfer of two spatially separated but entangled
quantum states . It is just that, by the fault of science
does not help that the word “quantum” evokes feelings
You get a new sensation.
But innocent as it may be, quantum teleportation
reasons. First, there is intense public interest and quite
often, from a practical point of view, it can be rather
previously, starry-eyed physicist-wannabes into the
is an excellent achievement; getting into CNN or BBC
handful, of course, but none as successful as quantum
teleportation. But of those I know of, we have:
condensate,
environmental noises,
MACHO.
And honestly speaking, I would not have known some
of them if it wasn’t for their fancy names.
chance to christen a discovery, crack your heads for
some catchy names. For all you know, you (or your
quantum teleportation) may become famous. Oh, and it
may make getting funding easier. And you can impress
your friends.
The Importance of Buzzwords...by Jackson Tan
2222
Appendix
1. The usual disclaimer: this does not imply that there is faster-than-light communication. Again, abuse your
2. That is to say, ahem, funding, grants, etc..
4. And if you must know, they are, respectively, Weakly Interacting Massive Particle and Massive Astro-
physical Compact Halo Object.
Warning: If you are allergic, or simply fear the
reading this review. This article contains contents that
may be harmful to those who run away from a little
nerdy laugh. Otherwise, this article is full of geeky
goodness that all can enjoy. Well, almost all.
Being a long-time fan of The Simpsons, I have
witnessed many sitcoms try their best to overcome the
great expectations the yellow fellows have cast in the
world of comedy. None succeeded. At least until the
arrival of this one show that might just save American
The Big Bang Theory.
Firstly, this is not a show about cosmology. Neither is
it about astronomy. One might ask: why in the world
Well for one, there are physicists in it. (Four, in fact.
and tongue sticking out, but young promising ones who
share the common fun of Facebook or Twitter. They
have their jam sessions too with Rock Band and play
Halo 3 every Wednesday night (Halo Night), not to
mention having other more quirky hobbies like 3-D
Chess or Klingon Boggle.
brilliant man, whose story in this universe surrounds
mainly on his (failed) attempts to convince others he’s
not a nerd (something which is entirely untrue) and
his Jovian crush (be it secret or open, reciprocated
or not) on his blonde neighbour Penny. His efforts to
Vader ‘No More Tears’ Shampoo) and his sarcasms
towards Sheldon has earned many laughs even as his
Witnessing the Bang - The Renaissance of Sitcomsby Han Weiding
http://xkcd.com/465/
2323
fantasy of having babies with Penny, that are “smart
and beautiful” are mocked by Sheldon as “imaginary”.
The most ‘normal’ character of the show perhaps,
Penny completely does not understand what the four
physicists are talking about, nor does she know about
Schrödinger’s Cat. Yet she still could hang out with
these geeks occasionally and talk to them, showing
remarkable level of tolerance (yes I know we geeks
are intolerable at times) on her part. There were signs
of her sprouting geekiness when she was addicted to
an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-
Playing Game) called Age of Conan, but otherwise
she is often repelled or confused with the nerdy things
and complex terms that the others do or say, especially
Sheldon.
Sheldon, the laughter magnet of the show, is perhaps the
epitome of the word ‘genius’. His level of intelligence
is practically off the scale, having entered college at
eleven, became a visiting professor in Germany at
results in the many jokes that still run in the minds
of Science” to his “Ah gravity, thou art a heartless
bitch”, Sheldon’s lines are as memorable as his unique
reactions to everyday life.
oothrappali, the Indian physicist who
despises Indian food. Being so shy towards women
that he cannot talk to them directly, he overcomes
it occasionally through alcohol (like how many of
creating a drunk man full of himself.
with women, constantly hits on any member of the
female gender he is near to. He knows at least six
languages, which he used to hit on Penny early on
in Season 1. However, to the waiter in a Chinese
restaurant, he’s the ‘annoying little friend who thinks
he speaks Mandarin’. His desperate attempts at wooing
ladies are a recurring joke throughout the season, as
does the fact that he still lives with his mum.
comical interactions, churn out tons of laughter and
comedy, even if one doesn’t understand the complicated
theories or formulae occasionally heard or seen. They
aren’t making a joke out of nerds, as these nerds do
get their share of ladies (thus explaining the alternate
theory for the name of the show). They aren’t making
a joke out of blondes either, as we do see Penny apt
on ourselves, for almost all of us would have to admit
we’re guilty of being a geek in one way or another.
the clever words Sheldon and the rest can offer us in
this wonderful comedy.
Sheldon, Penny and Leonard, 2 really weird geeks and a hot girl
24222222244444444444
Directors
Writers
Haw Jing Yan
Vinodhini M. Selveindran
Ronald Wee
Ng Xin Zhao
Haw Jing Yan
Vinodhini M. Selveindran
Ronald Wee
Ng Xin Zhao
Jackson Tan
Han Weiding
Thong May Han
The Momentum is published by the Physics Society, National University of Singapore. All rights re-
served. Subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1986, no part of this publication may in any form
or any means be reproduced or transmitted without prior written permission from the publisher. The
views of the publisher. Momentum is distributed freely in the National University of Singapore.
Want to see your articles published and your name here amongst these honorary writers? Just send in your articles to [email protected] for our next Momentum!
CCA points will be awarded to those whose articles are chosen!For any enquires, feel free to send to the above address as well.