A World Year Beach Walk

I was recently asked by the BNL public affairs folks to give a presentation to the Brookhaven Executive Roundtable, which gathers lab people, community people, and representatives from the US government (including Department of Energy and even a representative from NY Senator Schumer).  My task was multiple: to try and convey a sense of the physicist's outlook on things, to give some details about Einstein and the World Year 2005, to discuss the research being done at RHIC as clearly as I could, and finally to say a few words about Quantum Diaries itself.  Here's the final result, if you're interested...

Comments

[Paul Stankus]

Pete --

I took a look at your BER presentation, and it defintely makes some interesting points beyond the usual talk (though I think your analogy with the Sun, that the interior of a RHIC collision must be much hotter than its surface, is not really valid).

What I wondered, though, was how could a true high-culture vulture like yourself speak and blog on Einstein using a beach theme and not mention "Einstein on the Beach"? I actually sat through EB at the BAM way back once upon a time, and would liken it to being stuck in an elevator (another obvious Einstein reference on my part): it's not exactly painful, but the experience doesn't move along very fast; and having been there gives you a story to tell your friends (witness the present).

It's interesting to look into the origin of the title "Einstein on the Beach". Some seem to think it's a reference to Nevil Shute's "On the Beach" and so intended to conjure up unformed ideas of nuclear danger and link them to Einstein. But there's a scene in the opera which is clearly reminiscent of this quote attributed to Newton: "I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." On the whole Newton is not today as quotable as Einstein, but I've always liked this one.

Given that you've been contemplating Einstein while on the beach yourself, any thoughts?

Cheers,

Paul

[Peter]

I'd like to say "such an obvious reference that I decided to skip it", but I can't do that. I'm sure I've thought about EB in recent months but it completely slipped my mind when I was putting these slides together. So I'll add that to the list!