The Idea

In 2005 the University of Adelaide's Faculty of Sciences teamed up with Jamie Seidel of The Advertiser newspaper to create a weekly column featuring engaging science articles in which one asks Can you believe it?    Articles appear on the inside cover of the Review section of the Saturday paper on page 2. It has been my pleasure to bring fascinating aspects of physics to the readers of The Advertiser.

The Articles

The following titles provide links to the articles in pdf format, providing the highest possible image quality. The typical file size is 500KB.

Screaming Magnets

Could renowned physicist Michael Faraday, as he played around with magnets and coils of wire in his 1831 laboratory, have anticipated the wild screams of Jimi Hendrix’s distorted guitar revolutionising the music scene of the ’60s?
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 24 November 2007.

Probably Certain

Believe it or not, science-fiction humour writer Douglas Adams actually got his perspective of the universe right. No, the answer to life, the universe and everything has not yet been proved to be 42. But his idea that the universe is fundamentally weird appears to be true . . .
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 1 July 2007.

Carbon Fading

The world needs to drive a wedge into greenhouse emissions. Here are seven ways to clean up.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 19 May 2007.

Time to Ponder

We all know it's Einstein's greatest idea. But what actually is it?
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 31st March 2007.

Wired For Quality

Sometimes it does take a rocket scientist to figure out how to connect the DVD.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 17 February 2007.

Cricket in Full Swing

There's a third way to make a cricket ball move in the air. It's called Contrast Swing.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 2nd December 2006.

Turbulent Times

Have you seen the new 2006 World Cup soccer ball? It's called the ``Teamgeist'' and represents a radical departure from classic soccer-ball design.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 10 June 2006.

Surprise Attack

Explores soccer-ball aerodynamics with an empahsis on ``the dip'' induced by the turbulent to laminar flow transition at the critical speed.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 27 May 2006.

Food For Thought

Explains the link between greenhouse gases and the Antarctic ozone hole and their effects on Australia's multibillion-dollar fishing and wine industries.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 6 May 2006.

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

Links issues of global warming to recent changes in ocean thermohaline circulation.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 25 March 2006.

Swinger's Delight

Probes the mystery of cricket ball swing with an emphasis on the role of humidity.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 31 December 2006.

To Be Or Not To Be

Explores The weird, ghostly worlds of Einstein's mind.
This article describes, in an engaging manner, the essential idea of non-locality in quantum mechanics and the challenges to realism that Einstein pondered extensively during the emergence of quantum mechanics.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 24 December 2006.

Striving For Gold

Reviews the ancient Alchemist's dream to turn lead into gold.
Reveals the manner in which it is done with modern-day nuclear physics.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 8 October 2005.

Behind The Seams

Explores the aerodynamics behind cricket ball swing, including reverse swing.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 10 September 2005.

Need For Speed

Describes what makes a modern supercomputer super.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 23 July 2005.

Explosive Origins

Reveals the origin of the elements of the periodic table. We are made of star dust.
In the column "Can you Believe it?", Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 2 July 2005.