Uncertainty Principle Podcast – Stephen Sekula – Physicist

Uncertainty Principle Podcast – Episode 5: Eulogy for Emmy

Stephen Sekula — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 16:52:09 +0000

Portrait of Emmy Noether before 1910. Publisher: Mathematical Association of America, Brooklyn Museum , Agnes Scott College

I didn’t mean for a big gap from episode 4 (“Dangerous Beauty”), but COVID-19 and the reality of digital teaching intervened. A lot has happened since that episode. Here, in the conclusion of this two-part series on symmetry, I reflect on the realities we face in going back to school, in-person, in the middle of an exploding pandemic. I look at what happens when inadequate medical support meets human mortality, and the loss of genius that happens in the resulting mess. Let’s explore these themes through a particularly brilliant lens: Amalie Emmy Noether.

https://smu.box.com/shared/static/45j4x0q2zo8b4ceaa6dsa2cvtrf3jzmi.mp3

Show Notes

“Reality in the Shadows (or) What the Heck’s the Higgs?“. S. James Gates, Jr., Frank Blitzer, Stephen Jacob Sekula. YBK Publishers Inc. 2017.
“Etudes pour le Tierces” and “Etudes pour les sonorites opposees” by Claude Debussy (released in 1916), recorded in 1954, and performed by Walter Gieseking. Available in the public domain from Wikimedia Commons.
“The Noether Theorems: Invariance and Conservation Laws in the Twentieth Century”, by Yvette Kosmann-Schwarzbach and translated by Bertram E. Schwarzbach. Springer. 2011.

Uncertainty Principle Podcast – Episode 4: Dangerous Beauty

Stephen Sekula — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 15:00:00 +0000

We humans cherish beauty, even in our mathematics. Beauty – or “symmetry” – is taken as a sign of success and simplicity in a mathematical model or physical theory. But what if that beauty was a threat to a complete understanding of nature? In this, the first part of a two-part series on symmetry and physical theory, we look at quantum field theory and symmetry.

https://smu.box.com/shared/static/sk1gke5pi3liaa7cnqce8q8p8p8z34sf.mp3

Show Notes

“Reality in the Shadows (or) What the Heck’s the Higgs?“. S. James Gates, Jr., Frank Blitzer, Stephen Jacob Sekula. YBK Publishers Inc. 2017.
“Twelfth Street Rag“. R. B. Smith. 1975. Released into the public domain.

Uncertainty Principle Podcast – Episode 3: An Enjoyable Time Was Had By All

Stephen Sekula — Sat, 28 Mar 2020 15:00:00 +0000

Paul Adrian Maurice (P.A.M.) Dirac, or just Paul Dirac, is one of the most brilliant physicists who has ever lived. He is also one of the most curious human beings ever to be a physicist, and that’s saying a lot in a field where curious personalities litter history. This week, we take a look at two perspectives on Dirac: one from the introduction to the biography, “The Strangest Man,” and the other by a sports columnist who wrote about Dirac in the 1920s.

https://smu.box.com/shared/static/a25ko23yx2tmn6jifqj8ttjangwpp3w8.mp3

Show Notes

“The Strangest Man: the hidden life of Paul Dirac, mystic of the atom“. Graham Farmelo. Basic Books. 2009.
“ROUNDY INTERVIEWS PROFESSOR DIRAC. An Enjoyable Time Is Had By All “. Joseph “Roundy” Coughlin. The Wisconsin State Journal. April, 1924.
“See Me Through“. R. B. Smith. 1975. Released into the public domain.
“Rhapsody in Blue“. George Gershwin. 24 February 1924. In the public domain in the USA.
Learn more about Hermann Weyl, the mathematician who even Dirac found baffling in his intellect.

Uncertainty Principle Podcast – Episode 2: The Uncertain Road

Stephen Sekula — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 15:00:00 +0000

Are people born to a profession, or do they stumble into it? Is personal talent the most important thing, or a mentor entering the picture at a key moment? Let’s explore this question anecdotally in this episode, drawing on the memoir of SMU alumnus and astrophysicist Donald D. Clayton.

https://smu.box.com/shared/static/arfqlsdjhpjh2r4rgs9b1qo18q73w8ix.mp3

Show Notes

“Catch a Falling Star: A Life Discovering Our Universe (Links to an external site.)“. Donald D. Clayton. iUniverse. 2009.
” Frank C. McDonald Memorial Award”. https://www.smu.edu/Dedman/Academics/Departments/Physics/Undergraduate/FundingandAwards (Links to an external site.)
“Don’t Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes.” Slim Willet. BMI. 1952. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3XEOj2hzvA

Uncertainty Principle Podcast – Episode 1: Isaac Newton’s Pajamas

Stephen Sekula — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 15:00:00 +0000

A podcast for those times of uncertainty in physics

Episode 1: Isaac Newton’s Pajamas

To help us feel a bit more connected during these weird and uncertain times, enjoy the first in a short series of podcasts that ties the quirky things in life to physics.

https://smu.box.com/shared/static/msrmooe319twajdwxp09mdmevthnvvbg.mp3

Show Notes

“During a pandemic, Isaac Newton had to work from home, too. He used the time wisely. (Links to an external site.)” Gillian Brockell. The Washington Post. March 12, 2020.
“The Great Plague of London (Links to an external site.)“. Wikipedia. Accessed March 15, 2020.
“Social Distancing (Links to an external site.)“. Wikipedia. Accessed March 15, 2020.
“Opticks by Sir Isaac Newton (Links to an external site.)“. Sir Isaac Newton Online. Accessed March 15, 2020. Includes link to Kindle Ebook of “Opticks,” free from the Gutenberg Project.