How to Teach Physics to Your Dog

I've been reading Chad Orzel's blog Uncertain Principles for a while now on Science Blogs so I was excited to see he was giving a talk tonight at SUNY New Paltz sponsored by the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Association.

Dr. Orzel is an associate professor of physics at Union College in Schenectady and is the author of a book called How to Teach Physics to Your Dog which I haven't yet read, but certainly plan to now that I've seen his talk.  He also has a  website dogphysics.com.

Orzel gave an entertaining and interesting lecture on some of the popular topics in quantum mechanics like the wave-particle duality, quantum tunneling, and  the uncertainty principle.  While I didn't learn anything new, per se, I like hearing about new ways of explaining science to non-scientists.  The book is based on a cute idea too - explaining physics to his dog Emmy.

Anyway, if you see Orzel giving a talk anywhere, it's a good way to spend an hour.  I'll post about his book after I read it.