Some real science at last

For those of you who think I'm just pissing around here (does that include me? erm...), I just got an ac calorimetry setup working for the first time (if that means anything to you). I'll spare you the details of what we were measuring, but some of the technical thingummies of getting the damn thing going were rather amusing, for me at least to try figuring them out

We have to measure a tiny tiny signal at a specific frequency, and so any source of noise is very annoying. It turned out that the type of adhesive tape being used to protect the wires was picking up static and turning in to a huge antenna, also making a very good capacitor due to its high dielectric constant! Tracking that down was no end of fun.

Also there seemed to be some weird but very regular modulation of the signal with a period of about 10 minutes. Turns out it was the air conditioning kicking in as the temperature in the room was warmed up by all the pumps, lasers etc.

OK not very sublime stuff, but it's little things like that that make the job so much fun.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November

 


I'm missing this back home. Have fun guys (though not Guys). 

How not to behave in public

Last weekend I went to possibly the worst concert of my entire life. It started fine, the setting was a rather delightful restaurant in central osaka in an old wood-beamed building where they regularly have live music by local amateur bands. You can listen and eat at the same time (though I am still having problems with warm beef fat). I was there with some fellow foreigners, a French guy I know who lives in Osaka, and a friend from the UK who just arrived to teach english in Shikoku and was visiting Osaka for the weekend.

It started out fine, with a fairly good if slightly cheesy guitar player, followed by another couple of similar acts, the last of which was a chap in a backward baseball cap and "Thrasher" t-shirt, who played a guitar arrangement of "somewhere over the rainbow" and various beatles songs. So far so inoffensive, we had after all just turned up without knowing what was on programme.

The final act though stole the show, and I mean that in a bad way. It was a young Japanese guy, with fluffy toilet-brush hair, dressed head to toe in beige. He had three chunky Korg synthesisers set up, and from the moment he started playing to the end, almost an hour later I think, it was absolutely impossible to keep a straight face.

You know the "demo" button on keyboards, or the background music on a nintendo game from about 10 years ago, it was like that. Or worse. Think John Shuttleworth, with more self-confidence. I can't really find the words to describe it but lets just say that birdsong sounds were involved at one point. Musical Vogon poetry. Not only this but he was prancing about with grand gestures and an expression of such smug ecstasy on his face that it was utterly impossible, for me at least, and my friend for the UK, to adopt the usual respectful serenity expected during a concert.

I obviously still have a lot to learn from the Japanese, since almost everyone else in the room sat through the whole thing with a look of resigned tolerance on their faces, though near the end there were one or two cracks in the facade. They could clearly see us cracking up, though the man himself was so absorbed in his magnum opus that unfortunately he wasn't put off by our rudeness.

My French friend managed (just) to keep a straight face as well, he can speak Japanese, and knew that the whole evening had been arranged by this performer, and most of the audience were his friends. And he just cares a bit more about not being totally disrespectful in front of a room full of strangers I guess. It didn't help at the end though when he asked the guy if he had a CD, while one of his entourage gave me really odd looks.

We made a swift exit.

President Gore nails it.

Read this now.

How to draw in the crowds

How to draw in the crowds, originally uploaded by alexybeetle.

I have no idea what sort of club this is, nor do I wish to know.

And lest we be taken for slackers, this was the next morning at sunrise after a full moon party just outside Kyoto. Who needs sleep! (and if you were wondering if they had hippies in Japan, they certainly do, in an upmarket sort of way). 

Bye bye Zamami, it was very nice knowing you. 

... 

Don't I look dashing? 

A Sumo? 

Another crab. 

A crab. 

... 

I mean really, its not all that, you know. 

Our beach. Furu-zamami. You can see the coral reefs around the spur of rock sticking out. 

Obviously I am not enjoying myself here. Oh no. 

More Zamami-jima 

Beat that, Gucci. 

You can buy fish from the market in Naha and take them upstairs to be turned into sushi or sashimi and eaten fresher than a super fresh thing. Unfortunately (!? hello Lorna!!) I was travelling with a strict vegetarian so this was not on on the cards. 

This is Lorna, who was using your taxpayers money (if you live in Britain), to swan off round east asia and visit her old friends (we've know each other ten years, can you believe it!!).  

This little piggy went to market! 

Shuri castle, Naha, Okinawa 

Nice view.

Nice view., originally uploaded by alexybeetle.

Its very pretty this place, isn't it?

Zamami-jima

Zamami-jima, originally uploaded by alexybeetle.

Mobile phone blogging from the stunning tropical island of Zamami. Went snorkelling round the coral reef and saw colourful fishies like I wold expect in a rich person's aquarium. Sadly phone camera doesn't work underwater, at least not for very long.

Okinawa

I've just arrived on the tropical island of okinawa, famous for american occupation and unpleasant battles, along with broiled pig's trotter and peanut tofu. More updates later...

Watch out!

I'm not sure what to make of this, but fortunately I deal with teeny weeny pieces of superconductor. Some of my friends like playing with Uranium though.

Pair production in superconductors
Authors: J. E. Hirsch
Comments: better safe than sorry - experimentalists please take note
Subj-class: Superconductivity; Strongly Correlated Electrons

We show that an alternative theory of superconductivity recently proposed (theory of hole superconductivity) leads to the surprising consequence that real electron-positron pair production will occur for superconductors larger than a critical size. We discuss the expected magnitude of the effect and suggest experimental ways to verify it. Urgent attention to the possibility of harmful gamma-radiation being emitted from superconductors out of equilibrium is called for.

cond-mat/0508529

Europe trip - rundown.

In summary, I had a great time on my trip to Europe. Saw lots of friends, learnt lots of new stuff about physics - I am starting to understand what NMR results mean now!

The conference was a great success, at least for me. I got lots of nice comments about my talk, and the funky animations definitely helped (and I don't mean powerpointish tomfoolery, but proper physics, though I don't know how to post them here).

Not only that but I also got offered a job at A Very Well Known British University, so it's now up to me not to mess that up! Looks like I'll finally be back in blighty after nearly seven years! I hope I will still be able to get the jokes!

Our final night's entertainment in Vienna. My hasn't she got big hands! 

After. Yummmm. 

Before.