Tag Archives: chemistry

Twist and Shout: Topology In Action

As Chubby Checker sang and showed a 1960s generation, “Let’s do the twist.” Twist is not only an important thing. It is the only thing. Look around; all that you can see is made of twist. How so? The explanation starts with atoms and takes us through topology and Solitaire to the final fate of […]

A Better Battery

Here’s some good news: A better battery may soon be on its way to a device near you. (There’s bad news too but it will have to wait.) Building better batteries is all about smaller, lighter, cheaper, faster charging, longer lasting . . . and most of all getting batteries to hold more charge. This key attribute […]

Avogadro and the Eaters of the Dead

We can find fundamental physics while meditating in unlikely places. My wife’s father had a fishing camp on a small island in a lake. He died when she was young. His remains lie in a village cemetery by a sandy track amid boreal forest. It is a lovely place. We visit it from time to […]