Female Fizzicist

Knowledge Based... For now

2009-08-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you know that I'm in the computational structural biology business, studying as one of my projects RNA structure prediction. It is a very difficult problem, and existing technologies use what is known as the "knowledge-based" approach.

As a physicist, I used to resent this approach. It's not physical! The idea is to make use of known information, and convert it to some form of potential, or scoring function, or set of building blocks to build the RNA from scratch. It works, sometimes, particularly for smaller molecules (for larger ones, part of the big problem is sampling, or being able to find a good solution since there are so many possible ones...). In fact, it appears to work really well also for larger RNAs if you input enough constraints (determined experimentally).

Using a physics based approach is slow, and takes a long time for the solution to converge. And "physics based" right now refers to using parameterised force-fields. In reality, we don't quite know how well they work for RNAs. In fact, I was just reading a paper in a journal that these force-fields don't quite represent reality just yet (see http://www.citeulike.org/user/qshao/article/5491395 for instance). So the physics based approach just isn't feasible right now, and neither can we guarantee that it is good.

So for now, I'll just stick to the knowledge based business... And learn not to resent it (as much). There's so much information we can gather from high resolution crystal structures, and we're constantly moulding our understanding from these information. Looks like we really are in the era of information overload... I guess the key is to make sure we don't read in to much to it... (see http://personas.media.mit.edu/)

4th of July Literature Reading

2009-07-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Sigh, I'm trying to get through some literature for references to use in a scientific paper, but it's getting slow and distracting. After all, it's by now a pretty old project, and I've moved on to other things, so trying to get back to relevant literature is always a challenge!

And note to scientist/future scientists/grad students: be sure to keep a decent lab notebook that actually logs what you did. Trust me, in even a week, you possibly can't remember what the data in xx.dat even means. And if you program: COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT. It's never a bad thing to actually comment too much - you might not even recognise your code in a day, much less a year!

And it is... Biophysics!

2009-04-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, apologies for my prolonged absence, though I don't think many people missed me! During the last year or two, I finally passed my qualifying exam (which now makes me an official PhD candidate), and settled in a research lab. I've also got around making my lab website look better (see csb.stanford.edu/~adelene/), though I'm also trying to learn more about web design, so things might look more different there along the way.

Research has also decided to take the form of Biophysics, which is sort of an in-between science, in my opinion. For a long while the biological sciences and the physical sciences took on different tracks, but these days a lot more physicists are going into biology research, to try to apply physical principles to understanding biological phenomena. But admittedly we all know biology is highly complex. Hopefully from understanding simplified models, we can build up towards a more holistic understanding of biology.

There are several subcategories of Biophysics (see for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophysics), and I'm coming from the structural biology approach, trying to understand nucleic acid (mainly RNA) structure by combining the use of experiments and computer simulations. I think, at the end of the day, it is essential to merge the two methods, to have experiments guide simulations and vice versa, in order to elucidate the complex principles behind biology!

Not dead yet...

2009-03-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Hey there. I must apologise for the absence. No excuses really, other than being very busy, and not being sure what to put in here! I've finally settled in a research group, after some shifts and confusion. But anyway, I'll hopefully start once again putting science related posts in here!

Being a "Scientist"

2006-11-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

Finally, some respite after about is it, eight (?) weeks of the quarter, since next week's the Thanksgiving break. Though, frankly, most of us see it as "catch-up" week, to at least be back on par with what is being taught in lectures, and to get some of our research work progressing slightly faster than a snail. We all shudder to think what it'll be like to cope with Winter and Spring terms with no breaks during term, and with only one week straddling between the two. I suppose, that might mean more instant noodle meals?

Anyway, sorry to this "Anonymous" who commented a long while ago on my previous post. I've been wanting to write earlier, but you know how things get procrastinated. Not that it takes awfully long to write something, just that I'm quite inclined to write only when I feel like it. Heh.

I put the quotation marks on the word scientist, because sometimes I don't think I'm qualified to be called one... yet, at least. But maybe I can write a bit about the getting there process. Ha ha.

I suppose I don't know enough to write and give a decent account, and everything will be skewed according to what I've experienced, and what I've seen people go through. Well, being a scientist is a bit of an endurance test, more of a marathon than a sprint, I'll say. You do really need quite a lot of determination and motivation. I've spoken to several people in graduate school here at Stanford (not just scientists), and we have lull days where we wonder why we're here and what we're doing, especially if you just had a hard day at work where you spent most of the time trying to get data, realising later (always only later!) that you either a) forgot to turn on the machine, b) pipetted out the wrong chemical, c) fed in the wrong conditions, d) used a malfunctioning machine or e) (TRAGIC) all of the above. Even the non-benchwork scientists who thrive on computers and pen/pencil and paper suffer too. Afterall, you just need one missing minus sign, or to write * instead of ^ in your computer code to get all the wrong data. Try debugging a fifteen page simulation code, and you'll know what I mean.

Of course there are good days, when things go well, and you finally realise that your research actually has some applications and benefits to mankind. Ha ha, it's definitely not as directly fulfilling as being say a doctor or lawyer or social worker is, but there are perks too. I suppose, if you have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, you have half the battle won, because at least that'll keep you motivated for a while. At least, I like the academic setting of graduate school, and just being overwhelmed by the wealth of information available to tap here gets me excited. (Usually, at least I hope!)

Scientists do other things too, and if you have been reading carefully through all my previous posts, I'm quite keen in education, so I'll say we teach too. Academics do, at least, but if you went into industry, you can get away with no teaching (at least formally). I've only had a brief stint as a teaching assistant in National University of Singapore (NUS), and it was amazing. I suppose it was in part due to the fact that I've not actually studied in a Singapore university, so I thought it was especially special just to get in touch with the local teaching environment. I got to meet really intelligent students, inquisitive ones (and of course lazy ones too), and they have taught me more than I had taught them, I'm sure. But this is one of those things which is quite evidently fulfilling, if you ask me. And it sure takes away the sense of mundanity in research work sometimes.

But I must admit that if you're looking for a job to make big bucks, then you'll want to look somewhere else. Everyone likes to say you must have the passion, but as I said previously, you'll want to access all your options, because with every job, you'll like some things and hate others. Let's just hope you choose something you which has more of the former than the latter. I suppose if you're someone who's up for thrills and excitement, then research can be a bit dull (though this is too much of a generalisation. It depends heavily on your area of research, and of course you). But if you consider acquiring knowledge, meeting very intelligent people, being able to influence the lives of students, working on cutting-edge science which ultimately (hopefully at least) will be of benefit to mankind, and living on just bread and water (kidding!) interesting, then maybe you're cut to be a scientist!

Dear anonymous also asked about the process to be a scientist, and I'm not sure there is a fixed route. The most common, and perhaps most efficient route is to take a science/medical undergraduate course, and then go into graduate school (or as the Brits would call, post-graduate studies), to get yet more exposure to science. It never ends though, this learning process. I know lots of people who went to work first (usually in some industry) after undergrad, just to suss out what they really want to do, before heading to graduate school. I must say, you can be a brilliant researcher with just a bachelors or a masters, but if you're anything like me, and learn better in a structured and guided manner, then you'll want to get more experience via graduate school. Oh, and if after graduate school, you decide you don't want to be a scientist (a lot of people do!), you can still easily find a job elsewhere - anyone will want you (or so we graduate students hope...).

Ah, there was one more question "Is Physics nice?". Of course, of course, it's great! Ha ha, I still love it, only sometimes it seems so broad in undergrad that it's making my PhD topic decision a really tough one (yeah, excuses!). Physicists can go anywhere, I always say, and it's quite true. We've got biophysics, material science, astronomy, a bit of chemistry, particle physics... In fact, some physicists have joint appointments in the philosophy department (don't know, but why is it called metaPHYSICS, ever wondered?), so we really are quite a diverse bunch. (I'm sure though, I can say the same for other faculties, but let me indulge here, okay?)

Alright, that's a really long post! But I hope it'll provide some sort of an insight. And hey, you scientists out there, I know some of you read this! Pop by and say hi, and just give your take on what it is to be a scientist!

Shedding Light

2006-10-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

I spent several hours today just trying to get my computational structural biology assignment sorted out. It was fun though, playing around on html and various molecular visualisation softwares about. You might want to have a go at PyMol, or you can download here if that link does work (I have problems accessing it). You can easily find tools to help you out at PyMolWiki.

You can download various protein structures at the Protein Data Bank. There are visualisation tools at the site as well, but I quite like PyMol, I think it's rather user friendly. These things are great to help you visualise a protein, whose structure has a huge impact on its function.

There are many other tools out there, including Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD), RasMol, Swiss PDB, MolMol and so on. I'm sure there are tons more, but these are what were mentioned in my lecture.

Oh dear, enough biology, I reckon. Otherwise I'm really going further into the "dark side". I must admit though, biophysics is relatively new and unexplored, so it does appeal lots to physicists looking for new challenges. Of course, it helps that the effects of your research probably have more obvious and tangible benefits to mankind.

Whoah, now it all sounds noble. Oh well!

The Dark Side

2006-10-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

A couple of us (rather, really just me) have started calling the biology-related research as "the dark side". All just harmless, whimsical jokes, really.

But this is cool anyway, which makes you want to go from light to darkness. Ha ha!

Physics Nobel Prize

2006-10-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ah, I've been away too long! I'll like to think it's all the hustle and bustle of adjusting to the US and to being a graduate student. The transition's actually not as hard as in my undergraduate years, perhaps in large part because I knew several people prior to arriving at Stanford. Of course, having familiar housemates helps too, then we can cook familiar, nostalgia-filled, traditional meals, or whatever semblence of that. Although, admittedly we're still adjusting to everything and the way of life here, so we're not quite into cooking just yet.

Anyway, I was kinda hoping that the Physics Nobel Prize would be won by someone at Stanford (not that I had anyone in mind). You might have heard that Andrew Z. Fire from Stanford won the Nobel Prize in Medicine (shared with Craig C. Mello). It was on the front cover of The Stanford Daily yesterday, and my friends had a free meal over at the Med Sch (I think!) in celebration of his award. So naturally, being properly inaugurated as a graduate student, I would look all out for free food locations, and wanted a similar reception for the Physics department... Oh well. Seriously though, it'll be quite nice to have someone in your own university department winning a Nobel Prize (there are a few in Physics/Applied Physics who have got awards before, I think...) during your time there.

So, before I end of to read on photonics, have a look at who won the Physics prize here. Hey, one of them is from Berkeley! It's not that far to go for free food...

More next time!

Unwired!

2006-08-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

It seems silly if I said that I've only just got wireless internet in my house, but if you consider the fact that I'm hardly around at home for most of the year, one single internet point in the household is sufficient. But since this came as a package deal, I might as well have it, and use it too. And it's much more fun using my notebook and typing away on my own bed, rather than feeling pinned down by the common computer we share at home.

Anyway, so I've been off for a while, but here are some interesting things to share. First up is this really interesting tea advert I caught off someone else' blog. It's so creative an advert, I'm sure the little kids will love it lots.

Next up is mentos with pepsi. One of my ex-students told me about this, that if you actually popped mentos into a bottle cola and cap it(I can't remember if he said coke or pepsi), you can make it shoot up almost two storeys. Then another friend sent me these links to some rather interesting videos...

If you wondered how people did the last mechanics video I showed in my previous post, then you might be amazed with this one too: (check this site too)

It doesn't work as well with some other drinks... See here. Gets you a bit scared about drinking cola, doesn't it?

To explain the phenomenon, here's one site you might want to see. If you googled "mentos" and "pepsi" or "coke" you will get lots more videos and interesting links.

Stay entertained!

Cool Beanz!

2006-07-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Amazing.

Oh yes, saw me in the papers? Ha ha.

Edutopia

2006-07-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I have previously posted this link here, but I found out George Lucas' Edutopia website and I think it's a good read. Some articles will probably seem mediocre to you, but I like reading some common sense articles sometimes, simply because it reminds you of the obvious, things we sometimes grow to take for granted and just forget. In any case, it's interesting to find out about the education world outside of our country.

Say I'm idealistic, but I still believe strongly in the value of education to circumvent social problems. And I believe in the right of every person, young and old, to be educated and to learn. (Having said that, quite naturally I'm inclined towards science education... Actually, Physics...)

Wait, I'm starting to sound like the government. Hmmz.

Whatever, it's interesting read anyway, so enjoy. And tell me if you find any other interesting websites or articles related to education, I'll love to see one, even if it's not science related. Really!

And Then It Ends

2006-07-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

So Italy won in the end, and Zidane got the Golden Ball trophy. And now the world is left to moan over the dearth of football for a couple of months before all the leagues start.

Eh, watch S-League lah. Ha ha.

Meanwhile, check this out. It's a really pretty picture of a very interesting rainbow. It looks a bit scary, actually.

Hey, and I came across an article on holding particles using nothing but light! It's quite mind boggling, and I don't actually know how the Physics works, so don't ask me. But get your mind active here.

If you know how it works, hit the comments button!

World Cup Fever

2006-06-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone's on about it now, and I'm just waiting for the semis where I actually WILL be able to watch something on telly in the comfort of my own home. Yeah, I'm one of those sad ones who doesn't have SCV. Ha ha.

Oh, but it reminded me of this throw-in article I read recently. Have you encountered projectile motion before? We were taught that the maximum range of a projectile occurs when the object is projected at an angle of 45 degrees above the horizontal.

In real life, however, it doesn't happen quite that way, because when a player does a throw-in (for those who are clueless, that's what happens when the ball goes out of play), the body muscles and posture come into play. Apparently you get better range at 30 degrees. Read it here! (although you can't get access to the full article for free...)

And while we all lament on the loss of Argentina, have a laugh at Neil Humphrey's article on Weekend Today, Singapore here.

I had a good laugh, but I still won't deny a soft spot for England. Ha ha.

Boing

2006-06-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Perth on Sunday, hence the lack of updates!

Popping by today with a photo - not of me, but almost there!

Texting Mentors

2006-06-12T01:58:00.000-07:00

I like this. Kinda embraces technology and uses it for education. The way things should be!

Rainbows!

2006-06-09T01:15:00.000-07:00

Check this out, really cool video!

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/33/

A bit long, but it's worth it. I didn't manage to watch the whole thing before I received a streaming error. Oh well, erm, maybe I should pick up a textbook to read now then...

This guy's a great lecturer, by the way. I've seen his lecture on The Sounds of Music, and it was really interesting!

I like the last bit of that where he speaks with a mickey mouse voice when he inhaled helium...

Gathering Information...

2006-06-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's been a while since my last post! The days have been passing decently fast, and I've been busy (this despite me always telling people I'm "free"... It's all relative, I say!) with running some test cases on the computer programme I'm going to hand over at the end of my one year research attachment.

I've been trying to make the programme more user friendly, but ran into several problems trying to do that. Oh well, that's research for you. *grunt*

Anyway, I've recently joined my institute's (that is the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, IMRE) outreach group which focusses on JC students. I'm a bit dry on ideas, so I thought I might as well ask here, to see if anyone out there has any fancy ideas.

We're thinking of ways to reach out to JC students, to teach them science and get them interested. And also to improve upon existing programmes, like short vacation attachment programmes that are currently going on.

So if you're a student out there (and I know there's this JC guy who reads my blog, I just didn't reply that comment. I'll do better at being responsive comments-wise!), drop me ideas in the comments box. It could be simple things like what interests you, what type of projects you like to do, what you like or not about the education system and all that.

Any feedback is welcome, and I'll make sure I reply comments this time! I'm sure I can do better at that! :)

LEGO Bricks!

2006-05-31T00:36:00.000-07:00

Some of you might have got confused by some comments running around, so I guess I'll save you the trouble of trying to find out what it's all about. I wrote something in a segment called "Voices of Scholars" on the A*STAR website, which you can find here. And then you also can see a picture of me. Just proof that I've actually graduated. Heh.

Did you play with LEGO in the past? It was one of my favourite, albeit most expensive, toys. I recall model sets of petrol stations, airports, train stations, hospitals, pirate ships and all that. It was such a joy fixing them. I don't quite like the new sets they bring in now which I saw in Raffles City last weekend. They had a really cool display of a football (I'm still rather British like that, but soccer for the rest of you) stadium, some of football players the size of about half a metre, and models of pirates. Moving ones too. You might want to go check it out, it's pretty fun. I nearly took photos, but I didn't think I would have captured the beauty of the displays to do enough justice to them.

Which reminds me of a talk I attended this morning. Rather, the talk this morning reminded me of the LEGO display. It was called Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society by Mitchel Resnick, who is the LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research. He has been working on programmable LEGO bricks. Cool huh?

Prof Resnick is the head of the Lifelong Kindergarten group in MIT, which is part of the MIT Media Laboratory. You should check out the site, they do really cool stuff.

So Prof Resnick was talking about using computers and technology as painbrushes - interactive tools rather than the more passive mode of teaching like using computers as televisions. He's quite into getting kids on to hands-on, physical playing around, and also to find avenues to let children experiment in computing software.

He introduced Scratch, which is a software which allows children (or anyone really!) to make their own computer games or animation in a very easy to use way! And it's free! Although you can only download it later this year. I'm going to bookmark this... I think it's a great tool to help children to understand in a simplistic manner how programming works, and yet have lots of fun by creating their own animation. I can imagine myself getting stuck at this for a long time.

There's also this Computer Clubhouse project which he mentioned. I just got overawed by the number of things that are going on. I kinda wished (briefly!) that I was going to MIT instead of Stanford. Hmmz... Ha ha.

But to leave you off, I'll write down some of the things that the children made when given the freedom to create:
- an alarm clock which scratches one's head and plays music to wake one up
- a house for a pet gerbil which detects, via sensor, when he (the gerbil) enters his home
- shoes with ping pong balls attached to them so they light up with different colours when the shoes detect varied pressures on the soles when one walks
- a lock on a diary which detects when someone tries to pry it open. Even takes a photo of the perpetrator!
- a jukebox which reads what types of coins you put in and play different music
- a toilet paper dispenser which rolls out toilet roll when you clap your hands!

Phew, sounds fun? I think so too! Gotta find out more what these guys do...

Well, in the mean time, at least we've Fab Lab running (just about). More on Fab Lab next time, I know I still haven't talked about it!

Hopefully I'll start having pictures in here soon. Hopefully...

Oh, If We Could Get All The Energy

2006-05-26T01:06:00.000-07:00

You know how Singaporeans are becoming more health freakish? Yeah, like how they take up health club memberships, and have personal trainers and all? You can tell by the flourishing health clubs market.

Anyway, so this article in BBC reminded me of this grand lofty idea I had back in school. I realised that this isn't new at all, since I once mentioned this to a friend and she had the very same idea! So it isn't patentable. But still, it doesn't make it a bad idea...

So back to the health freaks: Maybe we can make people cycle on special bikes or treadmills so that they transmit all the energy to some power station. I mean, why waste all that energy? It seems weird that you exercise to dispense energy but you use electricity to run these very machines to help you exercise.

On another note, this is interesting too. Although the comment also made me think a bit. Yeah, cheap computers are good, but shouldn't we feed these people first? Anyway, I think something good can still come out of all this, since we can help people break out of the poverty cycle. Only, if they can get cheap and well-connected access to the internet, they'll have the wealth of information at their disposal. That'll be so good too. But we'll have to bank on some altruistic internet company to set that up.

To end off, here's a picture of a gift the Temasek Junior College students so kindly passed to me after I successfully (I hope, at least) entertained them for an hour or so, and told them a bit about research, science and the society.

You know, the little things like that make your day.

How Lasers Work

2006-05-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

I finally got around removing the copyrighted pictures, and only to find that I can't add audio either, even if I credited it. So this is a silent movie on how lasers work. I don't like the eerie silence, but apparently I can't add any audio unless I get permission.

Argh, WHATEVER.

So here's the video I promised!

(I've had complaints about not being able to see this, including a complaint from myself. So try looking at this here if you still can't see the vid.)

I reckon I might have made mistakes here (I've already noticed a grammatical error, but don't watch it trying to find the mistake ok!), so let me know if they are serious errors! Or, if HORROR OF HORRORS, you can't understand this video at all.

It's the first time I'm trying this out with a video, usually I'll at best give powerpoint presentations. Maybe for the next video I'll record my own voice. Ha ha, but I don't like hearing it through speakers. I always think I sound weird.

Oh, and there's a reason why we sound different through recorded audio! That's because when we speak, we hear ourselves through our head - sound travels through our head to the inner ear, where the sound is detected. When you hear yourself through speakers, the sound waves travel through your ears and into your inner ear.

I digress.

Yesterday, at the Fab Lab in the Institute of Infocomm Research, I was shown how to operate the Epilog laser cutter and engraver. We tried engraving on wood and glass, and some of the Anglo Chinese School (ACS) boys were so fascinated, they wanted to engrave the ACS crest on their mobile phone covers and ipods. Unfortunately we weren't sure the mobile phone cover was of a permitable material to engrave (if it's PVC, it starts emitting poisonous fumes, which we don't want!), and the ipod was a bit costly to use as a testbed. But these are ideas they definitely are going to be keen on trying.

I'll explain more about what Fab Lab is next time. It was funny though, that the students and their teacher were so entrepreneurial, they wanted to start a mini business engraving their classmates' mobile phones.

Ha ha, relying on that strong ACS loyalty, I say!

I, on the other hand, was thinking of getting a slick metal sheet, and engrave my university certificate on it. Man, it costs lots just to get it done outside...

Oh, maybe I have a business plan in my head too... Ha ha.

Eyes Popping!!

2006-05-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

Somehow staring at a textbook for the whole day tires you too. At least I was able to glance past the chapters faster than I thought I would, in part because it was interesting and I have encountered most of the material before. It's like revision time again.

And I got these new post-its. Actually, not new, but I just opened it up over the weekend. A friend popped it in my pigeon hole back while I was in Cambridge and I never beared to use them! Hi-lighter post-its. You know, those which are transparent, and coloured (pretty colours too!!) and I can make "markings" on my books without destroying them. I like books in pristine conditions. I know friends who like them used - it apparently adds to the well-read factor of the book.

Ha ha, we geeks bother about little things like these.

What to do, my computer's running slow since it's processing some data for me, so I can't do my C++-programming "lessons". Ah, one textbook at a time though, I'm hoping to learn some bio at some point. My education since sec 2 has been bio-free. Ha ha, I'm against the flow, man.

Meant to put up a video I had created on lasers. Unfortunately I remembered some pictures might be copyrighted in there, so I can't post it on you-tube yet. I'll make some changes, then I'll post it up. My attempt at explaining how lasers work.

Heh, and if you want to know how other things work, drop me a comment. I'll see what I can do!

Unplanned Break

2006-05-19T01:42:00.000-07:00

Since I'm almost finished with my one year attachment, it means that a new batch of scholars are coming in to do theirs. Can imagine their excitement; sometimes the unknown makes you curious and enthusiastic, only I'm not sure how long it lasts!

And it also marks my impending departure from this research institute, and even this country! Whoah, sometimes a year seems to pass by so quickly.

Anyway, my afternoon suddenly got freed today. I was supposed to go down to VJC to give a presentation, but apparently they won some final (dunno sports or what) and then got let off with a half-day break. I can imagine the students chanting "Half-day! Half day!" and the principal finally giving in. Although I was there when it was still Mrs Lee; I don't know how the new principal does things now.

Ha ha, the funny thing is that the students will be cheering, but the teachers will be groaning because they would miss lessons AGAIN! Yeah, I know what it's like, I've taught for a while there too.

But today I don't mind the extra break. Although it doesn't seem like giving the presentation's going to work out. First the session got postponed from 5th May because the school was closed for half the day in preparation for polling day (it was a designated polling station). Then today. So, twice it has been postponed.

Maybe eventually it'll take place when I'm ready to leave for Stanford. Heh.

Argh, been staring too much at the computer screen learning C++ programming. There is a certain sense of joy that comes with seeing the program work, even if it's a draft one you copied from the book. I tried an exercise question, and managed to get it working, and I must say, I was kinda smiling after.

Sigh, almost being a geek.

Check this out, so funny. Maybe the day will come I'll be the only one who knows what I'm doing.

Heh, hope I won't forget how to communicate...

Things Heat Up!

2006-05-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

I was reminded of something I learnt in school (actually university, but that's too embarrassing, since I ought to have known this earlier...) earlier today when I was walking back from the bus-stop after a lunch appointment at Biopolis.

Have you ever wondered why the roads look wet even though it did not rain prior, and the sun is shining so brightly?

When I was in primary school, I used to be so amazed at how the "wet" roads so quickly turned dry as my dad's car approached the "puddle". I never figured where the elusive puddle went, I just assumed it evaporated fast enough before we could approach it! Well, silly it is, but at least it "explained" where all that water went!

But actually, there never really was water to evaporate. The reason you even think there is water is because of the reflection you see on the road (or really, just any really hot surface). The presence of the reflection makes you think that there is a puddle of water, because it only seems logical in your brain as it processes the information.

Hmmz, this is when I'll fish out my brilliant art piece...

Now, now, don't you just love this? I would have made a great artist, I say.

I've got to explain why you even get the reflection, because that's the real reason you even think there is water on the road.

What happens is this: The sun heats up the road, which in turn heats up the air just above it. Then the air above the road is warmer than those above it. Yes, I know you'll say hot air rises, and that's true, but this isn't the equilibrium state - some air just above the road is warmer. And because it's warmer, it's less dense.

(I've drawn an idealised version, where this is only one layer of less dense air represented by yellow. In reality, the air above the road has a density which varies with height, but let's just keep things simple...)

When a ray of light leaves a less dense material (and hence lower refractive) index, for those of you who know the word...), to a denser material (higher refractive index), it bends (i.e. refracts). And it bends in a direction closer to what is known as the normal (it's the dotted vertical line in this case, if you can see it in my artistic diagram...).

Your eyes (or maybe brain) assumes that the light travels in a straight line, and hence traces back the ray (which enters the eye) with a straight line. And as it does that, it forms an image on the road (all this processed in the brain), which is why you see this inverted "reflection" image.

It's hard to explain this in words, but I hope the diagram is clear enough!

Phew, one mystery solved for you today!

Some Changes Along the Way

2006-05-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

I didn't realise the days have gone by so quick. Man, my last entry here was more than a week ago, and I even had a long weekend! So I'm left with no excuse...

Oh, but I did change my blog template, I didn't like the dark, eerie feel of the last one, and it seemed hard to read too. Maybe one day I'll download something from the net, so those of you who read blogs regularly won't be put off by this simple and probably overused template. But yeah, I'm lazy, so not yet at the moment.

I've just filled in my form to collect my I20 from Stanford. It's a bit surreal, being half in Singapore and half already in Stanford. The preparation's been slow so far, but I hope there isn't much that I actually have to do, since I'm a bit clueless about what I need prior to departing for the US. Back when I was packing up for Cambridge (UK, that is, not the likes of MIT and Harvard), things seemed a little less confusing. Although I don't know why, except that they use the same current and voltage as us! Hmmz.

Maybe age is catching up on me.

Oh, there's this new thing called Scientists in Schools which A*STAR has been working with MOE in recent months. It's about sending scholars over to JCs to promote science, mentor students and come up with interesting projects. I've just latched on to this, so I don't really know what to expect either. But I'll fill in more details next time when I know more.

Though it was great being back in JC, even though as a visitor!

I just realised this is the first time I'm officially declaring that I'm an A*STAR scholar. There, I've said it!

Ha ha, I hope you won't stop reading coz of this... Ha ha!

The Way Education Should Be

2006-05-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Oopz, I've been away for too long. Excuse the lack of regular update - I've been quite caught up at work (finally!), with a paper dateline looming, and seemingly ceaseless changes to be made to every draft I write. I can't wait to finally submit my draft, then I'll get it off my chest for a while.

Meanwhile, to break the trend of New Scientist, check out what MIT has to offer. Yeah, that MIT, the one most scientist go gaga over... It's not new, but I guess not everyone knows about it, so I'll help them do some publicity. MIT's quite into open education, so they have a series of information you can download and access. You have video (quite new!), podcasts and lectures (OpenCourseWare).

And I'm starting to find gems in Wiki too.

Ah, wealth of information.

I say, the newer generation (that includes me!) have far more exposure and opportunities than the older generation! I wonder what that means about the GE tomorrow.

10pm, I'll be watching!