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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

'It is nothing short of a miracle that modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.' -Albert Einstein #Einstein #science #physics

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Thrilled that Nobel laureate astrophysicist Jim Peebles has endorsed THE GREAT ATOM DEBATE, calling it "a fascinating account of the roles Ernst Mach and Ludwig Boltzmann played in the establishment of modern physics." Preorder now: www.amazon.com/Great-Atom-D... bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

'What fire there was in his playing!' Hans Byland, Albert Einstein's musical classmate at the Aarau school in Switzerland, recalling Einstein's gorgeous renditions of Mozart and others on the violin. (from Einstein: A Life, by Denis Brian) #Einstein

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Delighted to announce that award-winning, accomplished astronomer and writer Dr. Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social has kindly endorsed The Great Atom Debate, calling it "a gripping, meticulously researched history." Very grateful! greatatomdebate.com #BookSky #science #sciencebooks #physics

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Remarkable letter from Thomas Jefferson to scientist David Rittenhouse dated Sept 18, 1787 (the final day of the US Constitutional Convention) listed for sale by the Raab Collection. Jefferson told Rittenhouse that he sent him a chemistry book by Fourcroy. www.raabcollection.com/presidential...

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The eight "makers of universes" according to renowned Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw: Pythagoras Aristotle Ptolemy Copernicus Galileo Kepler Newton Einstein nytimes.com/1930/11/02/a... #science #physics #astronomy

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Roger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A revolutionary thinker and his aperiodic tiles Nobel laureate Roger Penrose, photographed standing on his eponymously tiled entrance to the University of Oxford's Mathematical Institute, 2021 (Royal Society)

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A minute with … Graham Farmelo, Stephen Hawking’s official biographer rogerhighfield.substack.com/p/a-minute-w...

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

NEW: There are widespread concerns that AI will reduce our critical-thinking skills. My story for @nature.com today looks at how to maintain those skills — and teach them to students. I found some fascinating science on critical thinking + useful tips for us all 🧠 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

How to stay smart in the age of AI: the science of critical thinking

There is growing concern that AI can blunt memory and reasoning. But science shows ways to keep the brain sharp.

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Ethan Siegel @startswithabang.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This discovery is why Einstein was history’s greatest physicist Einstein made a whole lot of discoveries in his life, with many others very close to many of his breakthroughs. But without Einstein, General Relativity may never have come about at all. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro

bigthink.com

This discovery is why Einstein was history's greatest physicist

Although many of Einstein's papers revolutionized physics, there's one Einsteinian advance, generally, that towers over all the rest.

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Ethan Siegel @startswithabang.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

“Donnie Darko” offers a time travel lesson you won’t find elsewhere The movie "Donnie Darko" first came out 25 years ago. How does the time travel in the story stack up against what physics actually understands? bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #physics #timetravel #movies

bigthink.com

"Donnie Darko" offers a time travel lesson you won't find elsewhere

Most time travel stories involve changing the past to create a better future. Donnie Darko subverts that expectation, and a whole lot more.

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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Ambivalent worlds: John Wheeler’s hesitant parentage of the multiverse By Paul Halpern ilnuovosaggiatore.sif.it/article/383 #histstm #physics #science #sciencehistory

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Catlin Lee @catlinyy.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

These popular physics books are really enjoyable and easy to read. The author explains the strange concepts well, and the ideas sing along with what I learned in classes, but the classes are not required to understand them. I love the book covers too! #booksky #science

Synchronicity: The Epic Quest To Understand The Quantum Nature of Cause and Effect by Paul Halpern

The Allure of the Multiverse: Extra Dimensions, Other Worlds, and Parallel Universes by Paul Halpern

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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

'No man achieves a hero's worldly fame Who has not forced himself with all his power; And as it caused his aching heart to tremble His valiant deed will live in song immortal.. Was he a king, a rich man or the like? He was a human's son beset with pain!' -Ludwig Boltzmann From "Beethoven in Heaven"

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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The only known photograph of Albert Einstein explaining his famous equation 'E = m c^2' on a blackboard. He was giving a public talk at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, on December 28, 1934. cmu.edu/news/stories... #Einstein #science

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lnz @helix7293.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Can't wait to read it!

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Congratulations Paul - it looks great!

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 07/09/2026

This looks exciting!!

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The combined insights of English chemist Michael Faraday and Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell helped illuminate the world, by showing that light is an electromagnetic wave.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧💡 #physics #chemistry #science

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Statue of brilliant Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell on George Street in Edinburgh. It features his beloved Irish terrier Toby, with whom he used to discuss scientific ideas. Toby seems to have been a loyal friend and good listener 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 edinburghnews.scotsman.com/whats-on/art... #Maxwell

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Iwan Rhys Morus @irmorus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

We have to admire in humility the beautiful harmony of the structure of this world—as far as we can grasp it. And that is all. -Albert Einstein

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The photograph's a composite, of course. Not even Tesla took that much of a risk for his showmanship!

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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Quantum Harmonies: Modern Physics and Music: From Pythagoras to string theory, explore the surprising connections between music and physics: www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ar...

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Publishers Weekly praises THE GREAT ATOM DEBATE: "Halpern... delivers a solid account of two Austrian physicists who famously debated the existence of atoms... [I]ntriguing intellectual history... [and] an accessible look at a critical scientific era." www.publishersweekly.com/9781541607224

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"May the spirit of Newton’s method give us the power to restore unison between physical reality and the profoundest characteristic of Newton’s teaching—strict causality." -Albert Einstein (Speech on the 200th anniversary of Newton’s death, 1927) #Einstein #Newton #science #physics

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On his 84th birthday, inventor Thomas Edison was interviewed by his friend Harvey Firestone, founder of Firestone tires Firestone asked Edison "What do you think of Einstein's theory?" Edison responded, "I don't think anything of Einstein's theory because I can't understand it" #Einstein #Edison

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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Albert Einstein, before, during, and after reading all of the books, magazines, and research articles in his extensive library 🤔 #Einstein #science #physics

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'It was Ernst Mach who, in his History of Mechanics, upset [my] dogmatic faith [in Newtonian mechanics]... I see Mach's greatness in his incorruptible skepticism and independence.' -Albert Einstein #Einstein #Mach #GreatAtomDebate #science #physics

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Dr Space Junk (Alice Gorman) @drspacejunk.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Looking out from behind Ernst Mach's eye socket. Who knew he was such an amazing artist? 🧪

pdimagearchive.org

‘Self-Portrait by Ernst Mach’ by Ernst Mach (1886)

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Albert Einstein, before, during, and after reading all of the books, magazines, and research articles in his extensive library 🤔 #Einstein #science #physics

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A good science book can spark so many interests and galvanize enthusiasm for the wonders of the natural world! Photo: Nikola Tesla reading in his laboratory, 1899 (Getty Images) #science #NikolaTesla #physics

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'About your cat, Mr. Schrödinger — I have good news and bad news.' (Benjamin Schwartz, New Yorker)

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Quantum Harmonies: Modern Physics and Music: From Pythagoras to string theory, explore the surprising connections between music and physics: www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ar...

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We have to admire in humility the beautiful harmony of the structure of this world—as far as we can grasp it. And that is all. -Albert Einstein

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Francisca Nneka Okeke, Professor of Physics at the University of Nigeria, received the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award for her significant contributions to the understanding of the ion currents in the upper atmosphere: web.archive.org/web/20170425... #NigerianScientists 🇳🇬

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Albert Einstein's connections to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿: Einstein was inspired by work of Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell. Relativity has deep links with Maxwell's electromagnetism. In 1933, University of Glasgow awarded him an honorary degree and he spoke about general relativity. #physics #science

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Albert Einstein's final research assistant, Israeli physicist Dr. Bruria Kaufman, reported the results of their joint calculations on a unified field theory at an international conference in Bern, Switzerland several months after his death. #WomenInSTEM #IsraeliScience #Einstein #physics

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Palestinian neuroscientist Thabat Al-Khatib works tirelessly at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, researching possible medications to treat Alzheimer's disease, while serving as a role model for young Palestinian scientists: aaup.edu/Alumni-Affai... \ #WomenInSTEM #PalestinianScience #Science

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Acclaimed physicists Fred Hoyle and Richard Feynman converse in Ripponden, Yorkshire, England. Feynman's wife Gweneth was originally from that region. From "Take the World from Another Point of View," Yorkshire Television. archives-dc.library.caltech.edu/islandora/ob... #histSTM #Feynman #Hoyle

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Quantum physicist Paul Dirac as a pensive child in Bristol, England #Dirac #quantum #physics #science

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