Cool Science

Some projects start with no hope but you forge ahead, chip away (insert favorite cliche here) and finally you get them running, and in hindsight you wonder what the fuss was about. That's really satisfying. This is the standard m.o. in research. But there is a more unusual type of project. It starts off with a beautiful preliminary result that falls in your lap - seeing something new for the first time that nobody has seen before - but then it becomes instantly near-impossible. And you realize nature just decided to let you have that tantalizing sneak peak and not to let you near any more information that might shed more light on that little glimpse that drew you in. I have some of both types of projects going on, but I'm a little obsessed about the latter, rarer type of project. Sometimes nature pulls the old bait and switch; taking the bait is easy, but then the hook sinks in and you'll have to fight with everything you've got to break free with your prize. Maybe I shouldn't post after late nights in lab...

Oh, and just for kicks here's an awesome pic of a boomerang trajectory