M.J. Dunlavy
@mdunlavyca.bsky.social
He/Him.
Always looking for ways to show the wonders of physics and the universe.
Audio, Video, Disco.
All views and opinions are my own.
Location: Halifax, probably in the lab
https://demos.smu.ca
Always looking for ways to show the wonders of physics and the universe.
Audio, Video, Disco.
All views and opinions are my own.
Location: Halifax, probably in the lab
https://demos.smu.ca
This week is when our Gaussian Error tutorial runs in 1st yr lab. We've been doing this for many now and the amassed histogram of student measurements now has a couple of thousand points. See the development of the bell curve here:
#iTeachPhysics
#iTeachPhysics
February 2, 2026 at 7:04 PM
This week is when our Gaussian Error tutorial runs in 1st yr lab. We've been doing this for many now and the amassed histogram of student measurements now has a couple of thousand points. See the development of the bell curve here:
#iTeachPhysics
#iTeachPhysics
Let me just check next weekend's forecast...
25-35cm of snow. Great. Amazing.
25-35cm of snow. Great. Amazing.
January 27, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Let me just check next weekend's forecast...
25-35cm of snow. Great. Amazing.
25-35cm of snow. Great. Amazing.
The best streaming service and it isn't even close.
STUNTS! ⚡️ Coming to the Criterion Channel in February!
January 20, 2026 at 8:42 PM
The best streaming service and it isn't even close.
SDP - Snow Day Pizzas
January 19, 2026 at 11:01 PM
SDP - Snow Day Pizzas
SDSD - Snow Day Sour Dough
January 19, 2026 at 9:05 PM
SDSD - Snow Day Sour Dough
Forget crop circles. We're doing Ice Circles now.
January 13, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Forget crop circles. We're doing Ice Circles now.
Aw dang. I unlocked a door with the key of imagination and you'll never guess what was beyond... a whole other dimension!
January 9, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Aw dang. I unlocked a door with the key of imagination and you'll never guess what was beyond... a whole other dimension!
Reposted by M.J. Dunlavy
Happy new year! My all sky camera imaged the sky every 15 seconds and this picture shows what happened in the sky in 2025. It shows the length of the night and day with the hourglass shape, the monthly lunar cycle with the diagonal bands, the elevation of the Sun at local noon, and lots of clouds.
January 1, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Happy new year! My all sky camera imaged the sky every 15 seconds and this picture shows what happened in the sky in 2025. It shows the length of the night and day with the hourglass shape, the monthly lunar cycle with the diagonal bands, the elevation of the Sun at local noon, and lots of clouds.
If someone was looking to understand the platonic form of the True Crime/Conspiracy format, what are some recommended podcasts to listen to?
Not necessarily looking for quality, I just want some insight into the format.
Not necessarily looking for quality, I just want some insight into the format.
January 5, 2026 at 8:02 PM
If someone was looking to understand the platonic form of the True Crime/Conspiracy format, what are some recommended podcasts to listen to?
Not necessarily looking for quality, I just want some insight into the format.
Not necessarily looking for quality, I just want some insight into the format.
Last summer, we went to see an outdoor showing of "The Princess Bride" in the Halifax Public Gardens. Everyone there had seen the film countless times and everyone had a gol'darn blast that night watching it.
RIP Rob Reiner
RIP Rob Reiner
December 16, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Last summer, we went to see an outdoor showing of "The Princess Bride" in the Halifax Public Gardens. Everyone there had seen the film countless times and everyone had a gol'darn blast that night watching it.
RIP Rob Reiner
RIP Rob Reiner
Good news everyone. I found our last working Drawdio.
A simple 555 oscillator circuit (output to speaker) where the holder is part of the feedback resistance.
A simple 555 oscillator circuit (output to speaker) where the holder is part of the feedback resistance.
December 12, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Good news everyone. I found our last working Drawdio.
A simple 555 oscillator circuit (output to speaker) where the holder is part of the feedback resistance.
A simple 555 oscillator circuit (output to speaker) where the holder is part of the feedback resistance.
My favourite movie of the year. Maybe go see it?
⏰ CLOSING: Last chance for Joachim Trier's SENTIMENTAL VALUE, tonight @ Park Lane.
📽️ OPENING: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård + Elle Fanning star in SENTIMENTAL VALUE, the Cannes Grand Prix-winning family drama from Joachim Trier (the phenomenal THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD).
Featured at #AIFF45 this fall, it starts Fri exclusive to Park Lane.
Featured at #AIFF45 this fall, it starts Fri exclusive to Park Lane.
December 11, 2025 at 1:02 PM
My favourite movie of the year. Maybe go see it?
When I came into my current job, I quickly discovered that I was left with some "legacy issues" from my predecessors.
So I like to think that what I spent my morning doing was just honouring them...
So I like to think that what I spent my morning doing was just honouring them...
December 10, 2025 at 6:12 PM
When I came into my current job, I quickly discovered that I was left with some "legacy issues" from my predecessors.
So I like to think that what I spent my morning doing was just honouring them...
So I like to think that what I spent my morning doing was just honouring them...
New video! Looking at the thermal conductivity of two very different materials in infrared vision.
youtu.be/5uLbq8CoVYk
#iTeachPhysics
youtu.be/5uLbq8CoVYk
#iTeachPhysics
"Seeing" Thermal Conductivity in Infrared
YouTube video by SMUPhysics
youtu.be
December 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
New video! Looking at the thermal conductivity of two very different materials in infrared vision.
youtu.be/5uLbq8CoVYk
#iTeachPhysics
youtu.be/5uLbq8CoVYk
#iTeachPhysics
Finally, something happened today that wasn't the most tiring version of that thing. Up till then, this day was a complete wash.
December 4, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Finally, something happened today that wasn't the most tiring version of that thing. Up till then, this day was a complete wash.
Reposted by M.J. Dunlavy
🎟️ DEAL: Save some $$ on Carbon Arc's wealth of wonderful Halifax film screenings with a discounted 6-Film Punch Pass, now on for $50 (normally $60)!
Get to it before the deal vanishes Monday: www.carbonarc.ca/tickets/punc...
Get to it before the deal vanishes Monday: www.carbonarc.ca/tickets/punc...
a man wearing sunglasses is sitting in the back seat of a police car .
ALT: a man wearing sunglasses is sitting in the back seat of a police car .
media.tenor.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:29 PM
🎟️ DEAL: Save some $$ on Carbon Arc's wealth of wonderful Halifax film screenings with a discounted 6-Film Punch Pass, now on for $50 (normally $60)!
Get to it before the deal vanishes Monday: www.carbonarc.ca/tickets/punc...
Get to it before the deal vanishes Monday: www.carbonarc.ca/tickets/punc...
Heck yeah
Thanks to Einstein, Matter Eater Lad digests an energy beam — Superboy #184 (1972, collected in DC Finest: Legion of Super-Heroes: Zap goes the Legion) #LegionOfSuperHeroes #Einstein #MatterEaterLad
December 4, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Heck yeah
1) Stoppard the Best
A) Science is improved by the Arts and vice-versa.
A) Science is improved by the Arts and vice-versa.
December 3, 2025 at 6:53 PM
1) Stoppard the Best
A) Science is improved by the Arts and vice-versa.
A) Science is improved by the Arts and vice-versa.
Hard to overstate how very different my life would be without Tom Stoppard’s work. His (underrated!) play “Hapgood” is the best espionage/quantum mechanics play ever written. And there’s no such thing as a bad production of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”
November 29, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Hard to overstate how very different my life would be without Tom Stoppard’s work. His (underrated!) play “Hapgood” is the best espionage/quantum mechanics play ever written. And there’s no such thing as a bad production of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”
I starting using a different music player on my phone and it gives me stats on how much music by each artist (I don't use spotify etc, I just listen to music I've bought). All that to say that this was a surprising amount of The Fall.
November 26, 2025 at 7:55 PM
I starting using a different music player on my phone and it gives me stats on how much music by each artist (I don't use spotify etc, I just listen to music I've bought). All that to say that this was a surprising amount of The Fall.
Very sad to read this. She came to SMU once to do a CBC video piece where we did some physics experiments. It was a great day and though she was slightly unprepared for what we had planned, she rallied incredibly and was game to make it all work.
I interviewed Colleen a couple of times over the years. She was so gracious and so accomplished.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Colleen Jones, champion curler and CBC reporter, dies at 65 | CBC News
Jones’s celebrated career paved the way for other women in sport and broadcasting
www.cbc.ca
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Very sad to read this. She came to SMU once to do a CBC video piece where we did some physics experiments. It was a great day and though she was slightly unprepared for what we had planned, she rallied incredibly and was game to make it all work.
Reposted by M.J. Dunlavy
Just a heads-up if you're looking for a telescope for the holidays... Costco has telescopes again, and they're decent 'scopes. I got one for myself a couple yrs ago that I use at home. 🔭 (It is the time of the year where I'm getting emails wondering how/what/where to get a telescope for Xmas)
November 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Just a heads-up if you're looking for a telescope for the holidays... Costco has telescopes again, and they're decent 'scopes. I got one for myself a couple yrs ago that I use at home. 🔭 (It is the time of the year where I'm getting emails wondering how/what/where to get a telescope for Xmas)
So many of his films (especially the ones he made with Masaki Kobayashi) can be summed up with this scene from "Hara-Kiri". One of the greats. His work in "The Human Condition" (all ~10hrs of it!) is some of the best film acting ever.
November 13, 2025 at 6:53 PM
So many of his films (especially the ones he made with Masaki Kobayashi) can be summed up with this scene from "Hara-Kiri". One of the greats. His work in "The Human Condition" (all ~10hrs of it!) is some of the best film acting ever.
Reposted by M.J. Dunlavy
The contest is open to all Saint Mary's students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Science is everywhere! We're looking for images from labs & workplaces, nature, scientific visualization and storytelling.
Enter now! smu.ca/photocontest
Science is everywhere! We're looking for images from labs & workplaces, nature, scientific visualization and storytelling.
Enter now! smu.ca/photocontest
November 5, 2025 at 6:02 PM
The contest is open to all Saint Mary's students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Science is everywhere! We're looking for images from labs & workplaces, nature, scientific visualization and storytelling.
Enter now! smu.ca/photocontest
Science is everywhere! We're looking for images from labs & workplaces, nature, scientific visualization and storytelling.
Enter now! smu.ca/photocontest