Physics Central is sponsoring a contest with a Super Bowl tie-in — a prize for the best video “that demonstrates some aspect of physics in football.” (Is there such a thing? Need you even ask?) Just load it up to YouTube with the tag “nanobowl,” but hurry — the deadline is this Sunday, February 3rd.
The winner will receive (seriously) a nanoscale trophy, visible only with an electron microscope! Oh yes, and the winner will also receive $1,000. In normal-sized money.
It’s really just a fake: they’ll give the winner an invisible speck of dust sealed in plastic.
Hmmm. If I don’t have an electron microscope, can I use one of those wacky near-field optical microscopes to see enough detail? What if I tried to cheat the uncertainly principle with a NFM for the “Heisenberg microscope” example, what would stop me?
In case anyone is interested (parents of football fanatic kids with enquiring minds for example), a book on football science had a good review in a UK newspaper last weekend: “How to Score”, Ken Bray, Granta, £7.99.
I guess it’s more about what they call “soccer” in the US than American football or baseball, but it may mention other games.
Me again, sorry
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Score-Ken-Bray/dp/1862079889