It is time to talk to another immensely interesting alumna of ours – this time, Iwona Kotlarska. Iwona participated at S3++ in 2017 and is currently studying towards a master’s degree in computer science, as well as a bachelor’s in mathematics. So, Iwona, why don’t you give us a short introduction for a start?
Author: Laura Busak
Laura is a physics student with a love for all things cosmic. She enjoys making and listening to music, reading books that make her think, and generally doing whatever random things she thinks of, often until 2 am.
Can you believe it? It’s been a year since we first greeted you on this blog, and what a year it’s been. We started this blog as a way to connect with our amazing alumni community, but also to reach out to the world and show it what we’ve got, trying to survive 2020. And survive, we did, with your help! Today, we’d like to take a quick look back on this past year and what we’ve built – together.
Co-author: Mario Zelić
Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to join together the Summer School of Science and the Internet in matrimony. Due to current circumstances, which make it impossible to organize S3 in Požega like we used to, this year we are in dire need of evolution and adaptation. The School is coming back, but in a different format. In this post, we bring you a detailed description of how we envisioned this year’s Summer School (and what you need to do if you’d like to join).
Now, now. Lay down the pitchforks. The title of this post might seem all the more blasphemous to some of you due to its date of publication, but it allows us to introduce a very important topic – the power of approximation, and when it should and should not be employed.
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Roger Penrose
Sir Roger Penrose is one of those names in science you may see so often that you might just think it’s an adjective, especially if your interests happen to be particularly well aligned with his. Penrose’s name crops up in cosmology, quantum mechanics, various mathematical fields and even in philosophy and graphic art. He is also one of this year’s Nobel Prize laureates in physics, which is why his name has been showing up even more frequently than usual. Since his is a name and character worth remembering, we’re bringing you a short overview of his most important endeavors and contributions.
The principle of science, the definition, almost, is the following: the test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of scientific truth.
Richard Feynman, The Feynman Lectures on Physics
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Quantum
“Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.”
Niels Bohr (and others, with variation)
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DIY: Soap bubble cyclones
Bubbles are generally fun to make and play with, but did you know you could witness some interesting physics by heating one up? You can watch mini cyclones form and dissolve. Try simulating a hurricane on a bubble in your kitchen!
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Terraforming Mars
You’ve probably heard of terraforming, be it in a game, a movie or Elon Musk’s Twitter feed. Even if not, you’re almost certainly aware of all the buzz around Mars and our plans of colonizing it. The feat of modifying an entire planet to better suit our needs would be as taxing as it sounds, but it has become the topic of serious scientific discussion.
So, could we really do it? And how?