Douglas Natelson
@nanoscaleviews.bsky.social
Physicist, occasional wiseass. Feed for Nanoscale Views (http://nanoscale.blogspot.com). Nanoscale@sciencemastodon.com. He/his. These opinions are my own, obviously, and don’t represent my employer. (Annoyed that I feel like I have to say that.)
Paging @glaucomflecken.bsky.social ….
Dr Oz on rural healthcare: "There's no question about it, whether you want it or not -- the best way to help some of these communities is gonna be AI-based avatars"
February 3, 2026 at 2:15 AM
Paging @glaucomflecken.bsky.social ….
For some values of “party”, it sure as hell was a crime!
February 3, 2026 at 2:05 AM
For some values of “party”, it sure as hell was a crime!
Pro tip: Corporate tax breaks to favor research don't really work when so many big companies already find ways to pay virtually no taxes.
February 2, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Pro tip: Corporate tax breaks to favor research don't really work when so many big companies already find ways to pay virtually no taxes.
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
Good reporting by the Crimson.
February 1, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Good reporting by the Crimson.
So, Krauss invited convicted sex offender Epstein to be on the board of his Origins Institute within a couple of months after Epstein’s absurdly short sentence ended and civil suits were being settled. Wow. www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov
February 2, 2026 at 1:59 AM
So, Krauss invited convicted sex offender Epstein to be on the board of his Origins Institute within a couple of months after Epstein’s absurdly short sentence ended and civil suits were being settled. Wow. www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
From the thought experiment side: you can imagine starting with a collimated electron beam and using a crystal as a diffractive beam splitter to get interfering paths that are well-defined, with any overlap with the solenoid being exponentially small.
February 1, 2026 at 10:20 PM
From the thought experiment side: you can imagine starting with a collimated electron beam and using a crystal as a diffractive beam splitter to get interfering paths that are well-defined, with any overlap with the solenoid being exponentially small.
🧪⚛️ Inspired by Veritasium's latest excellent video, here is a discussion of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, a major and highly useful physics result where classical physics says there should be nothing to see. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2026/02/what...
What is the Aharonov-Bohm effect?
After seeing this latest extremely good video from Veritasium , and looking back through my posts, I realized that while I've referenced it ...
nanoscale.blogspot.com
February 1, 2026 at 8:36 PM
🧪⚛️ Inspired by Veritasium's latest excellent video, here is a discussion of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, a major and highly useful physics result where classical physics says there should be nothing to see. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2026/02/what...
I mean, I know research funding is tough to come by (and I've joked about wearing NASCAR-like sponsor patches if it'll pay for students), but chasing money from a well-known convicted sex offender is really crazy.
Latest batch of the Epstein files has plenty more physicists. Going through them slowly, in no particular order.
January 31, 2026 at 8:27 PM
I mean, I know research funding is tough to come by (and I've joked about wearing NASCAR-like sponsor patches if it'll pay for students), but chasing money from a well-known convicted sex offender is really crazy.
So, Brett Ratner is the analog of Leni Riefenstahl now? Somehow that fits.
January 31, 2026 at 7:00 PM
So, Brett Ratner is the analog of Leni Riefenstahl now? Somehow that fits.
Just to put an end to the rampant speculation: I am not going to be the next head of the Federal Reserve.
January 30, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Just to put an end to the rampant speculation: I am not going to be the next head of the Federal Reserve.
Thanks. Necessarily I was brief, given the platform. I do think it's important to point out broadly that basic research can pay huge dividends (intellectual, financial, and in quality of life) far down the line, even if it doesn't lead to a patent or startup *right now*.
January 29, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Thanks. Necessarily I was brief, given the platform. I do think it's important to point out broadly that basic research can pay huge dividends (intellectual, financial, and in quality of life) far down the line, even if it doesn't lead to a patent or startup *right now*.
🧪⚛️ it’s even more reductive than STEM v everything else. There are many who push engineering to the exclusion of all else, bc only patents and startups are viewed as worthy.
I find it all part of a broader symptom in the US of thinking "anything that makes lots of money is good and pure and anything that doesn't is useless." The best things in life aren't quantifiable, especially not in dollars.
The U.S. has successfully convinced its people that “the humanities are frivolous and STEM is Important and Real” is basically a law of nature: this is absolute nonsense that we should stop putting up with.
January 29, 2026 at 1:05 AM
🧪⚛️ it’s even more reductive than STEM v everything else. There are many who push engineering to the exclusion of all else, bc only patents and startups are viewed as worthy.
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
Downfall Bovino Edition. You're welcome.
January 27, 2026 at 5:36 AM
Downfall Bovino Edition. You're welcome.
A stated position of the administration is that subject matter experts are generally corrupt and worthless, so depressingly this is no surprise.
The loss of expertise is staggering. The US is sacrificing its future under the Trump administration. 🧪
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
www.science.org
January 27, 2026 at 4:10 AM
A stated position of the administration is that subject matter experts are generally corrupt and worthless, so depressingly this is no surprise.
The quote late in the CBS news article from the anon official is
@nytpitchbot.bsky.social
worthy. As he might say, "From the ICU nurse who was beaten and shot 9 times while facedown, to the masked, unidentified ICE officer who murdered him, this has been 'a horrible situation for everyone'."
@nytpitchbot.bsky.social
worthy. As he might say, "From the ICU nurse who was beaten and shot 9 times while facedown, to the masked, unidentified ICE officer who murdered him, this has been 'a horrible situation for everyone'."
"A terrible miscalculation": Officials' response to fatal Minneapolis shooting causes anger among some at DHS
"When we gaslight and contradict what the public can plainly see with their own eyes, we lose all credibility," one DHS official said.
www.cbsnews.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:45 PM
The quote late in the CBS news article from the anon official is
@nytpitchbot.bsky.social
worthy. As he might say, "From the ICU nurse who was beaten and shot 9 times while facedown, to the masked, unidentified ICE officer who murdered him, this has been 'a horrible situation for everyone'."
@nytpitchbot.bsky.social
worthy. As he might say, "From the ICU nurse who was beaten and shot 9 times while facedown, to the masked, unidentified ICE officer who murdered him, this has been 'a horrible situation for everyone'."
They took a one-joke bit character from their previous show (Letterkenny), and made a series with surprising depth and heart. (Jacob Tierney, the showrunner for Heated Rivalry, was involved in production and appears a couple of times as a Canadian announcer.)
January 26, 2026 at 3:07 PM
They took a one-joke bit character from their previous show (Letterkenny), and made a series with surprising depth and heart. (Jacob Tierney, the showrunner for Heated Rivalry, was involved in production and appears a couple of times as a Canadian announcer.)
If you want a show with hockey, you might want to try “Shoresy”. It may be the best sports show I’ve seen.
January 26, 2026 at 2:51 PM
If you want a show with hockey, you might want to try “Shoresy”. It may be the best sports show I’ve seen.
The soundtrack is fantastic.
January 26, 2026 at 12:52 AM
The soundtrack is fantastic.
🧪⚛️ In an effort to distract myself from the awful news, here is a long overdue write-up in my concept post series about superconductivity. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2026/01/what...
What is superconductivity?
A friend pointed out that, while I've written many posts that have to do with superconductivity, I've never really done a concept post about...
nanoscale.blogspot.com
January 25, 2026 at 4:34 PM
🧪⚛️ In an effort to distract myself from the awful news, here is a long overdue write-up in my concept post series about superconductivity. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2026/01/what...
I haven’t read the column, but I assume Friedman spoke with a cab driver, and we will have to wait 6 months to see how the occupation of Minneapolis is really going.
January 25, 2026 at 2:26 PM
I haven’t read the column, but I assume Friedman spoke with a cab driver, and we will have to wait 6 months to see how the occupation of Minneapolis is really going.
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
The federal government is gunning people down in the streets, lying about what happened and then preventing any independent investigation of the killings
January 24, 2026 at 9:36 PM
The federal government is gunning people down in the streets, lying about what happened and then preventing any independent investigation of the killings
United is actually decent about this, compared to other US carriers.
January 22, 2026 at 10:27 PM
United is actually decent about this, compared to other US carriers.
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
Mafia goon: Nice house you got here...it'd be a shame if something happened to it
Media outlets: Mafia goon rules out use of force. Expresses regret at the mere thought of it
Media outlets: Mafia goon rules out use of force. Expresses regret at the mere thought of it
January 21, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Mafia goon: Nice house you got here...it'd be a shame if something happened to it
Media outlets: Mafia goon rules out use of force. Expresses regret at the mere thought of it
Media outlets: Mafia goon rules out use of force. Expresses regret at the mere thought of it
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.