Chad Orzel
@orzelc.bsky.social
Physicist, professor, author of books about science for non-scientists. Longer-form stuff at https://chadorzel.substack.com/
Went out skiing this morning at a golf course, and I can not for the life of me figure out how people are making tracks that go for a significant distance on flat ground with one ski higher than the other.
February 6, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Went out skiing this morning at a golf course, and I can not for the life of me figure out how people are making tracks that go for a significant distance on flat ground with one ski higher than the other.
The irony here is that the Law of Headlines dictates that if you ask "What Time Is The Super Bowl?" at the top of the page, you're supposed to answer "No."
Today is the 15th anniversary of "What time is the Super Bowl?"
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
A Brief History of 'What Time Is the Super Bowl?'
The story behind "the most legendary act of SEO trolling ever"
www.theatlantic.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:28 PM
The irony here is that the Law of Headlines dictates that if you ask "What Time Is The Super Bowl?" at the top of the page, you're supposed to answer "No."
A (very nerdy) blog post about the course I'm teaching this term on Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, which just passed the halfway mark: open.substack.com/pub/chadorze...
Midterm Report: Quantum Optics/ Quantum Information
Thoughts after ten of twenty classes
open.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:49 AM
A (very nerdy) blog post about the course I'm teaching this term on Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, which just passed the halfway mark: open.substack.com/pub/chadorze...
Reposted by Chad Orzel
Is this what I'll be researching this afternoon?
February 5, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Is this what I'll be researching this afternoon?
Reposted by Chad Orzel
We gotta get this in the Olympics now
During part of this we discussed Alpine Luge, which is an amazing sliding sport that sadly is not in the Olympics.
Anyway, here's what that looks like, with one of the greatest to ever doing it giving the demonstration down the track in Deutschnofen
Anyway, here's what that looks like, with one of the greatest to ever doing it giving the demonstration down the track in Deutschnofen
February 5, 2026 at 3:18 PM
We gotta get this in the Olympics now
Request for QC-type folks: I'm teaching Quantum Optics/ Quantum Information to Jr/Sr undergrads, and asking students to do research papers/ presentations. I would like to be able to point them toward some quantum algorithms sorts of things that I won't cover in class; what should I suggest?
February 5, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Request for QC-type folks: I'm teaching Quantum Optics/ Quantum Information to Jr/Sr undergrads, and asking students to do research papers/ presentations. I would like to be able to point them toward some quantum algorithms sorts of things that I won't cover in class; what should I suggest?
Reposted by Chad Orzel
People thought Porzingis was gonna revolutionize the game of basketball when he entered the league and yet this is like the third time he's been traded for a box of marshmallow peeps.
February 5, 2026 at 4:48 AM
People thought Porzingis was gonna revolutionize the game of basketball when he entered the league and yet this is like the third time he's been traded for a box of marshmallow peeps.
Reposted by Chad Orzel
[extreme The Killers voice]
I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier
I’ve got toast but I’m not a toaster
I’ve got hole but I’m not a holster
I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier
I’ve got toast but I’m not a toaster
I’ve got hole but I’m not a holster
February 5, 2026 at 5:36 AM
[extreme The Killers voice]
I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier
I’ve got toast but I’m not a toaster
I’ve got hole but I’m not a holster
I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier
I’ve got toast but I’m not a toaster
I’ve got hole but I’m not a holster
Reposted by Chad Orzel
feel bad for Bad Bunny because in context he was clearly very genuinely emotional for winning AOTY and is fighting back tears but this image is already being accompanied with like “when your boss asks you to do your job”
February 3, 2026 at 9:24 PM
feel bad for Bad Bunny because in context he was clearly very genuinely emotional for winning AOTY and is fighting back tears but this image is already being accompanied with like “when your boss asks you to do your job”
Pauli got there first:
February 3, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Pauli got there first:
Reposted by Chad Orzel
First they came for Bill Belichick, and I went lol. Then they came for Robert Kraft, and once again I went lol.
From @theathletic.com: Robert Kraft, who owned the New England Patriots for each of their six Super Bowl wins, did not receive enough votes to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bill Belichick was not elected into the hall either.
Bill Belichick was not elected into the hall either.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft not selected for 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame: Source
Kraft was a finalist via the contributor committee. Belichick was a finalist via the coach committee.
nyti.ms
February 3, 2026 at 5:02 PM
First they came for Bill Belichick, and I went lol. Then they came for Robert Kraft, and once again I went lol.
Reposted by Chad Orzel
I would much rather live under the mayoralty of Mamdani, but Adams strikes me as *far* more likely to be able to speak with rodents. You know that Eric Adams knows words that are considered deeply offensive slurs to voles, he’s shaken down ferrets and flattered raccoons.
groundhog [visibly thrilled]: *chatters away while Mamdani smiles and nods, listening deeply*
February 2, 2026 at 10:54 PM
I would much rather live under the mayoralty of Mamdani, but Adams strikes me as *far* more likely to be able to speak with rodents. You know that Eric Adams knows words that are considered deeply offensive slurs to voles, he’s shaken down ferrets and flattered raccoons.
Philosophy poster hanging near the bathrooms in the science center:
February 2, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Philosophy poster hanging near the bathrooms in the science center:
Reposted by Chad Orzel
Groundhog Harassed By Dipshits In Stupid Hats
February 2, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Groundhog Harassed By Dipshits In Stupid Hats
Reposted by Chad Orzel
Powerful argument for sticking with Fahrenheit.
Although Celsius makes summer more bearable.
Maybe we should switch forth and back, when we move the clocks forward or back? (Because there isn't nearly enough complaining about DST already.)
Although Celsius makes summer more bearable.
Maybe we should switch forth and back, when we move the clocks forward or back? (Because there isn't nearly enough complaining about DST already.)
February 2, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Powerful argument for sticking with Fahrenheit.
Although Celsius makes summer more bearable.
Maybe we should switch forth and back, when we move the clocks forward or back? (Because there isn't nearly enough complaining about DST already.)
Although Celsius makes summer more bearable.
Maybe we should switch forth and back, when we move the clocks forward or back? (Because there isn't nearly enough complaining about DST already.)
Today in "Aww, Goddammit..." www.dailygazette.com/news/busines...
Schenectady's Gershon's Deli announces closure
SCHENECTADY - Schenectady's Gershon's Deli announced its permanent closure Sunday after more than 60 years in business.
www.dailygazette.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Today in "Aww, Goddammit..." www.dailygazette.com/news/busines...
It tells you everything about the weather we've been having that I was genuinely pleased to see the outdoor thermometer showing 7F this morning, because it was at least a positive number.
February 2, 2026 at 10:36 AM
It tells you everything about the weather we've been having that I was genuinely pleased to see the outdoor thermometer showing 7F this morning, because it was at least a positive number.
Reposted by Chad Orzel
RFK Jr. Demonstrates How To Remove Tapeworm By Scooting Ass Across Carpet
RFK Jr. Demonstrates How To Remove Tapeworm By Scooting Ass Across Carpet
WASHINGTON—In an address touting the practice as a completely drug-free method to relieve the common affliction, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demonstrated Thursday how ...
theonion.com
February 1, 2026 at 10:00 PM
RFK Jr. Demonstrates How To Remove Tapeworm By Scooting Ass Across Carpet
Reposted by Chad Orzel
🧪⚛️ 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...
Reposted by Chad Orzel
javy báez has swung at over 10,000 pitches during his big league career and it's been a wild ride
February 1, 2026 at 4:16 PM
javy báez has swung at over 10,000 pitches during his big league career and it's been a wild ride
Reposted by Chad Orzel
It must be tough to work at NIST and not be able to pet the standard corgi, owing to it being kept in a triple-layer bell jar
I can officially confirm that the snow in NC is roughly one (1) corgi deep
February 1, 2026 at 4:54 PM
It must be tough to work at NIST and not be able to pet the standard corgi, owing to it being kept in a triple-layer bell jar
Reposted by Chad Orzel
This week on the blog! By request of the ACOUP Senate (that is, patrons on Patreon at the patres et matres conscripti level), a very brief introduction to the Late Bronze Age Collapse, a collapse even more severe than the fall of the Roman Empire in the west!
acoup.blog/2026/01/30/c...
acoup.blog/2026/01/30/c...
Collections: The Late Bronze Age Collapse, A Very Brief Introduction
This week, by order of the ACOUP Senate, we’re talking about the Late Bronze Age Collapse (commonly abbreviated ‘LBAC’), the shocking collapse of the Late Bronze Age state system …
acoup.blog
February 1, 2026 at 3:08 AM
This week on the blog! By request of the ACOUP Senate (that is, patrons on Patreon at the patres et matres conscripti level), a very brief introduction to the Late Bronze Age Collapse, a collapse even more severe than the fall of the Roman Empire in the west!
acoup.blog/2026/01/30/c...
acoup.blog/2026/01/30/c...
Reposted by Chad Orzel
People in the Arts Use Public Domain Materials for Something Other Than "Thing That Was Cute -- now it's SCARY!" Challenge
January 31, 2026 at 4:29 PM
People in the Arts Use Public Domain Materials for Something Other Than "Thing That Was Cute -- now it's SCARY!" Challenge
Reposted by Chad Orzel
You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
January 31, 2026 at 6:57 AM
You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs)
Good tech.
Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales)
Bad tech.
Temperature is solidly in the "squeaky snow" zone, but a really nice ski day all the same
January 31, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Temperature is solidly in the "squeaky snow" zone, but a really nice ski day all the same