June 22, 2014 David Latchman 3Comment

Invisibility is just one of the many features of Kiera Cameron’s (Rachel Nichols) City Protective Services (CPS) uniform. A cloaking device, such as the one used by CPS officers, deflects light around it rendering it invisible. Such a device would be based on metamaterials; an artificial material specifically engineered to have properties not be found in nature. Prof. Sir John Pendry, the father of metamaterials. The idea for such a material was first proposed by English physicist, Sir John Pendry in 2006 in a paper published in Science, “Controlling Electromagnetic Fields”. In this paper, Pendry describes…

June 13, 2014 David Latchman

Continuum’s present timeline seems to be littered with objects from the future. This is hardly surprising considering it is a time travel show. Objects like Kiera’s CMR, the Quantum Time Traveling Device, the drug Retrievanol better known as “Flash” and that other mysterious device whose purpose we are yet to learn all exist in a time when they should not as they have not been created. Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen) is arguably the inventor of many of these devices. Or, at least, he will be in the future. If present day Alec “invents” these devices by examining them, can he…

June 6, 2014 David Latchman

In the sixth episode of season two, “Second Truths”, we see Kiera go up against the mysterious serial killer known in 2077 as the Ouroboros Killer. Using her knowledge of the case in 2077, Kiera (Rachel Nichols) discovers that there isn’t one but two killers working together. We see Kiera’s cellular memory review/recall or CMR in action and that her cybernetic visual implants allow her to see in low light and the infra-red spectrum Cybernetic visual implants allows Kiera to see in low light levels to capture a killer. We also see a further use of…

June 2, 2014 David Latchman

There is nothing as intimidating or awe-inspiring as the most famous Kaiju’s roar. Though fictional, this is one of the things that defines him other than his massive size. But there are problems were physics is concerned. Sound is generated by the larynx in one of two ways: either purring mode or flow-driven mode. Purring mode depends on how quickly the vocal folds or vocal cords contract and vibrate. Flow-driven mode depends on how passing air vibrates those folds. The sound produced in flow-driven mode depends on the size of the larynx. The larger the larynx, and hence the vocal…

April 26, 2014 David Latchman 1Comment

The last episode to Continuum’s second season (“Second Time”) sees a grief stricken Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen use the time travel device to go back in time to save the life of Emily (Magda Apanowicz). A shocked and distraught Keira (Rachel Nichols) looks on as Alec disappears from the time line in a flash of light. What is everyone’s favorite Protector to do now that the time travel device no longer exists? Is she forever trapped in the present unable to do anything about Alec’s betrayal? If you were hoping to find out what Kiera would do now that she…

March 2, 2014 David Latchman

The second week of the FutureLearn course “The Discovery of the Higgs Boson” looks at physics of the 20th century–special relativity and quantum mechanics. These two branches of physics represented a fundamental shift in the way we view the world. It may come as a surprise to some that these deep philosophical shifts have very unexpected origins. Our view of a quantized world came from the need to create a more efficient light bulb while the connection between space and time came from our need to run a more efficient railroad network and international time conventions. Need for a more…

February 15, 2014 David Latchman 1Comment

The Higgs boson has captured the world’s attention from the moment it was announced the Large Hardron Collider was being built to find it. The elementary particle’s discovery was announced by CERN on 4 July 2012 and is nothing short of monumental as it appears to confirm the existence of the Higgs field. This pervasive field is pivotal to understanding why some fundamental particles have mass. As interesting and exciting as this discovery may be, its consequences and implications remain out of reach for the general public. Future Learn, a privately company owned by Open University, along with the University…