Those Wacky Nobels!

hello, friends,

so, i didn't win the nobel this year. just like i didn't win a macarthur grant. ah, well. if we all be patient, i will someday rule the world.

i won't attempt to explain the winner for this year's peace prize. if you want some smart observations, visit steve clemons' www.thewashingtonnote.com as soon as humanly possible. he's also got some provocative comments about judith miller.

but physics, well, i do know physics.

stop laughing.

i'm serious. cut it out.

at any rate, i had a student last year who majored in physics and drama. he was my "got to" student who got the rest of us thinking differently about science (like, "wow. check out those particles!"). i fired off an email asking the question on everyone's minds: "what the heck are they talking about?"

helpful mike ridgaway responded back with a brief overview:

"Quantum optics, like regular optics, is the study of light and how it behaves. Quantum optics, however, deals withlight on an atomic level. I'm sure you've heard before that light acts as both a wave and a particle. The wave aspect of light has a frequency that corresponds to the color we detect, much like how the frequency of a sound wave correspondsto the tone we hear. These scientist have developed new and incredibly precise ways (within 0.000000000000001 units) to measure the frequency oflight, specifically the kind emitted from atoms. This is what they're talking about when they refer to the color of atoms. Their research extends to applications in atomic time measurements, where atomic emissions and behavior are used as units of time."

got that?

it is just so cool.

here are pictures of the winners:

aren't these guys just darling?

almost as precious as marbury and madison.

cordelia got a fantastic new haircut this weekend -- as soon as i figure out how to scan a picture of her, i'll post an image of the little cutie. she came out of the groomer with a big bow with a pumpkin on it around her neck.

fall break this weekend coming up and i get to go to san francisco for the marriage of the persian and the pollack. we've missed them greatly while they've been in london, but we have full faith and confidence that the event will remind us instantly how much we love them both.

that' s enough for now. be good to each other and light a candle for those poor folks living in pakistan, india and turkey.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,

volansky