Category Archives: physics

Why does the Moon have phases?

Posted on June 10, 2016 by tkflor

“Moonspinners. They’re naiads – you know, water-nymphs. Sometimes, when you’re deep in countryside, you meet three girls, walking along the hill tracks in the dusk, spinning. They each have a spindle, and onto these they are spinning their wool, milk-white, … Continue reading →

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Talking cosmology at a party

Posted on May 12, 2016 by tkflor

“…I barely know her, but if I were you, I would not mention cosmology.” Jon’s advice was not surprising. Danielle did not mention what she was studying when the likely responses were astonished stares, ill-fitted jokes, and awkward silences before … Continue reading →

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Another reason to celebrate Albert Einstein’s birthday

Posted on March 13, 2016 by tkflor

“Nature shows us only the tail of the lion. But I do not doubt that the lion belongs to it even though he cannot at once reveal himself because of his enormous size.” Albert Einstein, in a letter, March 1914 … Continue reading →

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Celebrating first anniversary

Posted on February 18, 2016 by tkflor

I am celebrating the first anniversary of Initial Conditions, with a promotion and a giveaway. After ten years of writing and rewriting, I published my first novel, Initial Conditions, in early 2015. I watched it take tiny steps and nervously … Continue reading →

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Tales of extreme sensitivity

Posted on February 12, 2016 by tkflor

Water streamed from her hair down her clothes into her shoes, and ran out at the heels. Yet she claimed to be a real Princess. “We’ll soon find that out,” the old Queen thought to herself. Without saying a word … Continue reading →

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Unification

Posted on February 6, 2016 by tkflor

“The most cherished goal in physics, as in bad romance novels, is unification. To bring together two things previously understood as different and recognize them as aspects of a single entity – when we can do it – is the … Continue reading →

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Nothing is going to change

Posted on January 13, 2016 by tkflor

It’s an issue I was determined to avoid in this blog and for a good reason. A lot has been written (and blogged, tweeted…) about sexual harassment of female students in STEM. Reading Sean Carroll‘s blog-post, “We Suck (But We … Continue reading →

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Science, science-fiction and the power of imagination

Posted on January 9, 2016 by tkflor

Kazuo Ishiguro and Neil Gaiman. Illustration by Tim McDonagh, image from New Statesman. “In her mind’s eye, she saw forsaken civilizations, the bygone times when gods mixed with heroes and monsters interbred with beasts. Her childhood heroes were all brave, … Continue reading →

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Special snowflakes

Posted on December 14, 2015 by tkflor

“Folks that has brought up children know that there’s no hard and fast method in the world that’ll suit every child. But them as never have think it’s all as plain and easy as Rule of Three – just set … Continue reading →

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Celestial whisper – science-fiction or frontiers of cosmology?

Posted on December 5, 2015 by tkflor

Starlight dotting the seemingly empty space is a beautiful and inspiring sight, one that can be an impressive backdrop in a movie or a setting in a novel. But what if along with the spectacular view comes a piece of … Continue reading →

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