I’m a theoretical physicist.
Physics is a profound collection of ideas, a framework that explains (well, at least some of) the things that we can see around us. It often does so in perplexingly beautiful ways. There are times when I feel that learning about a new area of physics has something of the character of reading a well-plotted murder mystery. You encounter mystifying fact (a bloody foot-print here?) after peculiar observation (a divergent density of states there?) only to learn 2.5 chapters in that of course So-And-So was the murderer, it was leading to this all along and it could really have been no other way.
(If you’re extremely lucky, you even sometimes get to be the detective).
One of the pleasures of my job is walking students through these layers of unfolding mystery and revelation. I’ve always wanted to try and do this for a larger — and maybe somewhat less captive — audience than my poor hapless students at Durham U.
This is my attempt. Tell me what you want to learn about.
