SPS SLU Chapter

11/26/2019

Elon Musk tweeted a clip of the Cybertruck towing an F-150 uphill. It might look like a contest of power or torque, but it’s actually a battle of mass.

11/16/2019

Hanging out at LIGO.

11/11/2019

We had so much fun seeing the One-Man Star Wars Trilogy last week at the Columbia! If you're still craving more Star Wars fun, then this is the event for you - lecture by STEM Radio host Dr. Rhett Allain!

Event Description:
The Science of Star Wars
Lecture by Dr. Rhett Allain: Science advisor for Mythbusters and MaGuyver
November 13, 6:00pm Room 211 of Pursley Hall
Event is FREE

Of course we all know that Star Wars isn’t real. However, that doesn’t stop us from using the fundamental ideas in physics to explore and model different situations we see in the Star Wars movies. Consider the way R2-D2 flies by pointing his thrusters backwards in order to move with a constant velocity. The only way for this motion to agree with Newtonian mechanics is to include an air resistance force. Using the thrust angle and estimations for the speed, the mass of R2-D2 can be determined.

There are many other estimations from the Star Wars movies. How fast are blaster bolts? What do the scaling laws say about very large spacecraft? How much power would a lightsaber need to melt a metal door? This talk will focus on the analysis of questions such as these.

04/17/2013

UCA's Physics Club (Society of Physics Students) is proud to have Dr. Philip Metzger from NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory give a seminar via Google Hangout on Tuesday, April 23rd, in LSC 170 from 1:40-2:40PM Central Time. Dr. Metzger's presentation is titled " The Coming Revolution of Industry in Space" and will focus on NASA's research on mining the lunar regolith and some of the economic rational for doing so.

04/16/2013

http://www.physicstoday.org/daily_edition/singularities/physical_scientists_can_do_anything_here_s_how_you_start_your_career_planning

I once had an adviser outline available career options for someone, like me, with a bachelors in mathematics. Other than my becoming a professor or teacher, or going into actuarial studies (calculating insurance tables), he intimated there was nothing I could do with my math degree. Nothing—as in ze...

03/20/2013

http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2013/03/19/advice-to-my-young-self-on-my-one-year-con-niversary/

“A lot of mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves.” -Banksy One of the great joys I got to experience came last year, when for the very first time, I was invited to be a guest of honor at a most fabulous convention: MidSouthCon 30! I went into it not…

03/19/2013

Volunteers needed for IR camera demo:
We are planning to do an IR camera demo next week possibly on Monday or Thursday. If you are interested in helping please send us a message.

03/17/2013

http://people.cs.clemson.edu/~bcdean/reu/

Data-intensive research is characterized by the need to efficiently acquire, store, transmit, manipulate, visualize, search, and analyze massive data sets. In recent years, investment in large-scale high-performance computing infrastructure has enabled an exciting opportunity to address "Big Data!"…

03/15/2013

http://youtu.be/EYPapE-3FRw

Physicist Richard Feynman explains the scientific and unscientific methods of understanding nature.

03/13/2013

Demo Day

09/26/2012

Please check your selu webmail for email regarding meeting times and t-shirts on sale.

09/19/2012

This edition’s crossword puzzle celebrates service. Service is a hallmark of the mission of Sigma Pi Sigma (ΣΠΣ), has been the theme of ΣΠΣ President Diane Jacobs’ term of office, and will be central to the 2012 Quadrennial Physics Congress, hosted by ΣΠΣ: “Connecting Worlds through Science and Serv...