A DC Science Café Event

Quantum Mechanics: Embrace the Weirdness

Many scientists rate quantum mechanics as the most successful description of the physical world ever. It accounts for the antics of atoms, electrons, photons and other minutiae with stunning precision, even as it provides the physical foundation for the world-changing technologies underlying the information revolution. There’s more to it than that. This same theory of theories also reveals that our reality is weirder than all get out. Particles can be in two places at the same time…or they can exist (sort of) without actually being here at all. If you measure the trait of one particle in one location, you just might end up locking in properties of another distant particle instantaneously. Our notions of cause-and-effect and of objective reality in our daily lives do not apply so well in quantum mechanical realms.  Join discussion leader Steve Rolston, physicist at the University of Maryland and co-director of the Joint Quantum Institute (a research partnership between UMD and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology) , for an evening of eating, drinking and thinking that will leave you wide-eyed and neither here nor there and thereby most attuned to your own quantum mechanical foundation.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

6:30  -  8:30 pm (program starts at 7:00 pm)

Busboys and Poets, 5^th and K St., NW, Washington, DC

www.busboysandpoets.com/about_5th.php

For info, contact Ivan Amato: DCScienceCafe@dcswa.org

How your harsh reaction to horseradish may lead to new pain-managing medicines

The Washington Post
By Ivan Amato, Published: September 5

The next time you experience a horseradish rush — you know, those tear-jerking omigod seconds when your entire head is tsunamied by pungency from the too-big dollop of herb you just wolfed down — consider that some biologists describe your moments of agony as nothing less than a brief exposure to a natural form of tear gas.

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Because overheating can be fatal, humans and other animals find ways to cool off

The Washington Post
By Ivan Amato, published July 11

It may seem like plain-old common sense to seek cooler air on sweltering summer days. But there’s a complex, carefully orchestrated biological imperative behind that hunt for air conditioning and a chilled drink.

First and foremost, we need to stay cool to stay alive. Thankfully, like all members of the animal kingdom, we have a repertoire of behavioral and physiological tactics to keep from fatally overheating. This enables us to pursue a strategy that might, in Washington-speak, be called a Save the Proteins campaign.

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Beautiful Beetle Bedazzles at Bethany Beach

There is really nothing to say, but OMG. This little creature joined us at the beach by landing on a beach towel. I captured it so that my camera lens could enjoy it for awhile and then I set it free.

Spiders Making A Living

There are marvels everywhere, including in my back yard. As I walked out the door this afternoon, I spied a few orchard spiders (perhaps of the Leucauge venusta species) in an azalea bush. A closer look revealed one web shared by two spiders apparently rehearsing for a synchronized swimming competition and a successful trapper who has woven his catch into a peaceful-appearing death pose, replete with forelegs folded upon the thorax.

A backyard butterfly, up close.....

This butterfly enchanted me for twenty minutes on a crisp Saturday morning as it flitted about on these purple flowers, dipping its impossibly long proboscis into each for a harvest of nester. When I zoom in on these images, I am amazed by the thick tufts of hairs and the patterns on the eyes. Who would not want to be a Lepidopterist?

Iridescent bugs: the science behind nature's bling

The Washington Post

By Ivan Amato, Published: May 16

With bug season approaching, you might be stocking up on citronella, repellent sprays and swatters. But before the murderous assault begins, it’s worth considering the elegant optical wizardry of some of the insects you will be offing.

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