On this day in 1916 - the year this photo was taken - Albert Einstein published "The foundations of the general theory of relativity." The 54-page paper, which appeared in Annalen der Physik, was the first comprehensive description of the theory.  Now, almost 100 years later we are finally finding the gravity waves to perhaps prove this theory? 

Photo Credit: Physics Today

Today is Spring!!!! The Vernal Equinox

Can it really be?  Yes, it is...today is SPRING!  At 12:57 PM today. It has been "the winter from the devil", as my husband says.  We have broken all sorts of records for accumulated snow, days in a row with snow, snow fall totals,  and record cold temperatures, so this day is a welcome sign!     I've been seeing signs all around the piles of snow that we still have laying around.  A few bare spots of grass here and there.  The kids were really missing the grass, I was too.  The red-winged black birds were singing, and the ROBINS!  I counted over 20 of them in one area of our yard yesterday picking at bugs and worms coming out of the ground.  Those are good worms!  I wanted to run and scare them away because those worms are good for our soil development, but I let them eat. We heard Canada Geese honking too! The sap is running in the Maples too...we will be getting our Maple Syrup from a local sugar shack in a few weeks. With the day's being longer, spring can't come soon enough!

What is the first day of spring?  What is happening?  Well, on the first day of spring, the vernal equinox - day and night are each approximately 12 hours long.  The Sun crosses the celestial equator going northward; it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west.

Photo Credit: NASA

So, from now until the Summer Solstice (June 21st - our wedding day!) the days will continue to get longer and longer.  This makes me happy.  I can't wait until the ground is not frozen and I can get my hands working in the soil.  Cheers to Spring!

Kids books

Great reads for kids.

These are just a few of the 10 trade books out from NSTA Kids!

NSTA Kids just launched some new trade books.  These trade books are dedicated to nurturing the wonder and curiosity inherent in young minds.  Since my kids have been able to walk and talk, they have been asking me questions.  Great questions about the world around them.  I am excited to check these out and share them with my kids. 

This news still gets me excited.

Gravity waves or 'Wiggles' detected "proving" inflation after Big Bang

Click here to read the full article.

My last year of college I wanted to do some research, so I applied for a REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) grant and got accepted at the University of Chicago to study under Dr. Nick Solomey and his experiment he was carrying out at FermiLab.  In layman's terms, he was studying particles to prove the Big Bang Theory.  He allowed me to collect some data from his Tevatron experiment and then analyze it.  I observed the Cascade Mu particle as it decayed to Lambda Pi Zero. I was trying to calculate the mass of the particle within an acceptable error range.  This was my first experience with Particle Physics and it was a grand one.  Looking back, I still can't believe I got the opportunity to have shifts out at FermiLab (granted they were the 3rd shifts that no one wanted), but it was an opportunity for me that I will never forget. Nick really wanted me to have a great experience. Living out at FermiLab was very exciting.  There was an ENERGY out there that was indescribable.  For real.  This was the big time research.  Granted the Big Bang was just a theory, but it was the only one that made sense.  It was the only theory that fit all the data that we had up to this point. This research published this weekend just blows my mind!  How can we really be SEEING 14 million years into the past. We are peering into the first moments of creation and learning something from it!  Amazing.  I am hoping that others can confirm this B-mode polarization and that we will in fact have proof of inflation!

Welcome and Hello

If you found this Blog, you must be interested in learning a little something about physics.  Come along on this journey as we learn and grow together!