It's nearly time for the 74th World Science Fiction Convention, MidAmeriCon II, in Kansas City, Missouri. It runs from the 17th to the 21st of August at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Here are program items in which I'm participating. "Kansas City, here I come!"

Jungian Mindscapes and Clement's Iceworld

Thursday 10:00 - 11:00, 2201 (Academic) (Kansas City Convention Center)

[I'm the second speaker in this academic session of two short talks.]

“The Red One” and Enduring Archetypes of Science Fiction’s First Golden Age:
The Jungian Mindscapes Campbell Inherited from the Writers of the Fin de Siècle
Charles Von Nordheim

The Search for Saar: Looking Back at Hal Clement's Iceworld with 21st-Century Science
William S. Higgins
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Some scientific aspects of Hal Clement's 1951 novel Iceworld are notable 65 years later. First, in 1951 not one exoplanet was known. Clement would live to see an abundance of new planets circling distant stars. Furthermore, rather than seeking Earth-like planets, one may search for worlds Clement's sulfur-breathing aliens might inhabit comfortably. The planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has identified at least one planet, Kepler 42c, where conditions approximate those of the imaginary world Saar. Second, in detail unusual for SF of its time, Iceworld explores a planet with remotely-operated spacecraft, anticipating the methods of the coming Space Age.

Kaffeeklatsch: Bill Higgins

Thursday 12:00 - 13:00, 2211 (KKs) (Kansas City Convention Center)

An hour of conversation with a few people who wish to converse with me. Attendees must sign up in advance Wednesday afternoon for the limited seating. Signup instructions are here. (I doubt actual coffee will be served.)

Other kaffeklatsch hosts in the same room at the same time—at different tables—will be Kathleen Ann Goonan,  Brianna Spacekat Wu, and Christopher McKitterick.

Edison's Concrete Piano

Thursday 18:00 - 19:00, 2206 (Kansas City Convention Center)

Bill Higgins (Moderator), Dr. Jordin Kare, Allan Dyen-Shapiro, Howard Davidson,  andyvanoverberghe

Even the greatest minds have some pretty strange ideas. In 1911, Edison decided to create a concrete piano. What other great, or extremely bizarre ideas have found their way to the US patent office? A look at the oddities that people have imagined.

Note: This panel has moved forward one hour from the original timeslot.

Where Science Fails

Friday 15:00 - 16:00, 2502B (Kansas City Convention Center)

Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ (Moderator), Bill Higgins, Anna Kashina,  Dr Helen Pennington, Mr. Donald Douglas Fratz

Although scientists are supposed to follow the scientific method, sometimes that allow their human side to get ahead of them. What caused the crisis of replication in social psychology, the false alarm on cosmic inflation detection, or the announcement of cold fusion?  How can these errors be avoided, and how do they damage the reputation of science?

Ask a Scientist

Saturday 15:00 - 16:00, 2210 (Kansas City Convention Center)

Mx Rachael Acks, Bill Higgins (Moderator), Dr. Claire McCague, Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis

Do you have a pressing question about the earth's warming, worm holes, advances in communication technology, cloning? A panel of scientists in varied areas of expertise are here to answer your scientific queries. Answers will be timed out at five minutes each, so don't ask for a detailed explanation of General Relativity! Please keep questions brief and specific.

Fizz and Fuse, the Reactor Brothers

Saturday 16:00 - 17:00, 3501H (Kansas City Convention Center)

Dr. Jordin Kare, Bill Higgins

In this humorous ad-lib chat, Jordin Kare and Bill Higgins diagnose people's spaceship (and other SF) problems in the style of "Car Talk."

Playback from Pluto

Sunday 15:00 - 16:00, 2502B (Kansas City Convention Center)

Bill Higgins

There's a treasure at the edge of the Solar System, a data recorder aboard the New Horizons spacecraft, sending Earth several gigabytes acquired during last summer's flyby of Pluto. The excitement of the initial encounter still lingers. Downlinks in recent months continue to illuminate the mysteries of Pluto, and 2019 brings us all new data. What will we learn?

About a year ago, I borrowed from my local library Denise Kiernan's book The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II. Unfortunately, I hadn't yet finished it by the due date, so I had to take it back to the library.

Having turned the book in, I strolled over, as is my wont, to the used-book-sale shelf. Because you never know what you might find there. I found this:



Obviously Fate intended me to be united with this book. I'd already read enough of it to know that it was well worth owning. I paid a dollar and went home with my very own copy.

In the course of time, the Ela Area Public Library District chose The Girls of Atomic City as this year's tome in their One Book, One Reading Community program. They've lined up a variety of speakers over the summer weeks. I've agreed to give a talk on Wednesday, 8 July.

Secret Cities, Secret Jobs: Creating the Atomic Bomb in World War II
Wednesday, 8 July, 2015
7:00pm to 8:15pm

Ela Area Public Library
275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich, Illinois 60047

Physicists discovered that uranium fission could be applied to make a devastating weapon--but it would take the help of hundreds of thousands of citizens working under the cloak of secrecy to make nuclear bombs a reality. Join Fermilab physicist William Higgins as he shares insights into this urgent effort...one of many memorable WWII dramas.

Kiernan's book concentrates on the women who worked at Oak Ridge. I'll be giving an overview of the Manhattan Project. Hanford and Los Alamos were two other sites where secret towns employing thousands of workers sprang up to meet the needs of the massive project.

I hope to say a few words about why Kiernan's book is both interesting to the average reader and also to the reader already steeped in Manhattan Project lore.

I'm pleased that the Library District has invited me, and I'm looking forward to my visit.

Detcon 1 is the name of this year's North American Science Fiction Convention. Detcon will blossom in my old home town, Detroit, Michigan, from Thursday, 17 July, through Sunday the 20th. I've agreed to participate in a bunch of programming.

Physics, Mechanics, & Logistics of Flying Cars

Fri 10:00 AM -- Mackinac East
What would it be like if we DID have flying cars? What are the physical, technical, logistical, legal, and cultural factors we would need to consider? Are flying cars like cars or are they like planes? What will really make cars fly?

Bill Higgins (moderator), Mel. White, Erik Kauppi, Emmy Jackson

The Science of Hal Clement's Iceworld

Fri 12:00 PM -- Mackinac East
In Hal Clement's 1951 novel Iceworld, characters who breathe hot gaseous sulfur confront the mysteries of Earth, to them an unbelievably frigid planet. Among other things, the legendary master of hard SF foresaw robotic interplanetary exploration in a unique way. And now that astronomers know about thousands of extrasolar planets, does the homeworld of the sulfur-breathers lurk among them? Join Bill Higgins in exploring the chemistry, physics, and astronomy behind the classic story.

Bill Higgins

Where's my D@m! Flying Car?

Sat 12:00 PM -- Ambassador Salon 1
Science fiction vs. science reality: where did the future go wrong? We may have flying cars, but they're not the anti-grav vehicles that we really want! Humans have been experiencing long-term space flight for years now, but there are no colonies yet in orbit or on the moon. And where's my hoverboard?

Jonathan Stars (moderator), Douglas Johnson, Ian Randal Strock, Cindy A. Matthews (Cynthianna), Bill Higgins, Dr. Charles Dezelah, Dr. Nicolle Zellner

Annals of Michifandom

Sat 1:00 PM -- Nicolet B
From the Slan Shack and the propeller beanie to Detcon1, Michigan fans have contributed mightily to fannish history and lore. Join us for some rollicking multimedia time travel through fandom Michigan-style.

Dick Smith (moderator), Cy Chauvin, Tammy Coxen, Gregg T. Trend, Chad Childers, Rich Lynch, Leah A. Zeldes, Tullio Proni, Amy Ranger, Denice Brown, Pat Sims, Roger Sims, Todd R. Johnson, Fred Prophet, Bill Higgins, Tracy Lunquist

[I don't think Dick Smith has ever lived in Michigan, but he married into Michifandom, and he is greatly concerned with preserving fannish history. So he's a good MC for a two-hour review of the Wolverine State's many-faceted involvement with fandom. Should be fun.]

The Personal Replicator

Sun 11:00 AM -- Ambassador Salon 1
With the introduction of 3-D printers, we're well on our way to Star Trek's replicator. Before long, we'll have access to the alchemist's dream: the ability to manipulate molecules. What are the implications for the world economy? Do we face the possibility of wiping out poverty? What about intellectual property? We will have to answer these questions, and many more, much sooner than you think.

Jonathan Stars (moderator), Joshua Kronengold, Mel. White, Mike Substelny, Bill Higgins

I don't know how to explain this. It's multiple things, all tangled up into a ball. But clearly I need to tell you about it.

1. Feynman.

Let's start with Richard Feynman (1918-1988). Perhaps you know of him. Physicist, Caltech teacher, Nobel Prize winner, legendary storyteller. Bongo drums, safecracking, and so forth.

2. The Diagrams.

As a shorthand for thinking about quantum field theory, he devised Feynman Diagrams, in which each squiggle represents part of an equation. Particle physicists continue to use these squiggles every day.

I was surprised to learn that Feynman used to drive around in a 1975 Dodge Tradesman van decorated with Feynman diagrams. California license plate QANTUM. This is a bit more Hollywood than theoretical physicists usually get.

So there's an artist today who creates metal sculptures. He fashions metal versions of Feynman diagrams. Soon some of these will be on display in the Fermilab art gallery for a couple of months. More about him in a moment.

3. Tuva. And Its Music.

Ralph Leighton was, among other things, a friend of Feynman's, and sometime amanuensis, compiling some famous books of Feynman's amusing stories.

Feynman and Leighton shared an interest in Tuva, an Asian country, effectively part of Russia, near Siberia and Mongolia. "Anyplace that's got a capital named Kyzyl has just got to be interesting," said Feynman. They learned about Tuvan "throat singing," a unique style in which a singer produces two tones simultaneously. A decade ago, I read Leighton's book Tuva or Bust.

Partly because of Leighton and Feynman's efforts, this music has become more popular around the world, and Tuvan throat singers tour giving concerts.

Saturday, 12 April, at 8 PM, Fermilab Cultural Events series will present Huun Huur Tu: Throat Singers of Tuva . One may obtain tickets here .

4. Leighton.

Prior to the concert, at 7 PM, Ralph Leighton will speak on "Richard Feynman’s Fantasy: The Marvelous Stamps of Tannu Tuva" in One West on the first floor of Fermilab's Wilson Hall.

And Leighton is bringing Feynman's van. It's been restored.

So, Saturday night, one could hear Ralph Leighton, admire Richard Feynman's van, and enjoy the music of Huun Huur Tu. The Feynman diagram installation will also be on display in the second-floor art gallery in Wilson Hall.
The artist doesn't show up until Wednesday.

5. The Artist.

Metal sculpture is his hobby. By profession, he was Professor of Political Science, Statistics, and Computer Science at Yale University. Now he is Emeritus Professor.

He is Edward Tufte. Author of The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information, Visual Explanations, and Beautiful Evidence. Legendary works on representing numbers and other information visually. A globally renowned guru of design.

The sculptures, he does for fun. The Cognitive Art of Feynman Diagrams will be up on 12 April, but it formally starts on Wednesday, 16 April. The artist reception runs from 5 PM to 7 PM; space is limited, so registration is required.

And Tufte is bringing his Interplanetary Explorer. Or, anyway, the part that can be towed. It, too, will be on display, alongside the Feynman van, from 12 April to 26 June.

Even those unable to attend the Saturday concert or the 16 April reception, then, may drop by Wilson Hall before 26 June, at a time when Fermilab is open, to examine Tufte's exhibit and the Tufte and Feynman/Leighton vehicles.

Here's Fermilab's press release about these events.

Should be a memorable spring.

The Boskone folks have kindly invited me to Boston for their famous convention on the weekend of Valentine's Day. And now they have put their program schedule online. A list of items sorted by panelist is also available, if there are particular people you are eager to see.

Unfortunately, K won't be able to attend. Nevertheless I am really looking forward to this con; I'm also planning to hang around Massachusetts for the following week. Here's my schedule.


Paleofutures

Friday 18:00 - 18:50

The new term "paleofuture" describes a future that never was - a prediction made in the past which hasn't panned out and never will. Which foreseen futures have subsequent events rendered impossible? Which are plausible still? What histories, worlds, discoveries, and technologies could (or could not) yet come true? And for extra credit, what are our own predictions of things to come?

Elizabeth Bear (M), Bill Higgins, James Patrick Kelly, Beth Meacham

The Science of Hal Clement's Iceworld

Friday 20:00 - 20:50

In Hal Clement's 1951 novel Iceworld, characters who breathe hot gaseous sulfur confront the mysteries of Earth, to them an unbelievably frigid planet. Among other things, the legendary master of hard SF foresaw robotic interplanetary exploration in a unique way. Join Bill Higgins in exploring the chemistry, physics, and astronomy behind the classic story.

Bill Higgins
[A brand new talk, especially for Boskone, on Hal Clement's home turf.]

Boskone Meet the Guests & Art Show Reception

Friday 21:00 - 22:00

Connoisseurs and philistines alike: welcome! Come meet our special guests while enjoying a feast for the eyes that is the Boskone Art Show. Join us in the Galleria to enjoy refreshments -- and refreshing conversation.

Bill Higgins, Jane Yolen, Seanan McGuire, David Palumbo, Bill Roper, Ginjer Buchanan

[I've heard Boskone's art show is very good. This'll be a great opportunity to get a look at it in my otherwise busy weekend.]



Kaffeeklatsche with Bill Higgins

Saturday 11:00 - 11:50

[Simply conversation with other fans. Sign up and let's chat!]


Welcome to Fermilab: Particles Beneath the Prairie

Saturday 13:00 - 13:50

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is a fascinating place, full of mile-long machines, giant assemblies of intriguing apparatus, underground beams of mysterious particles, and a herd of buffalo. Take a tour and hear a few stories from Bill Higgins's 35 years in the accelerator business.

Bill Higgins



Interview with Science Speaker Bill Higgins

Saturday 14:00 - 14:50

Join us for a lively discussion as former Special Guest Guy Consolmagno interviews Boskone's current Hal Clement Science Speaker, Bill Higgins. Bill is a radiation safety physicist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. As a longtime member of fandom, he writes and speaks about the crossroads where science, history, and science fiction meet. Other topics that may come up include spaceflight, astronomy, physics, and maybe even some weird aviation.

Guy Consolmagno (M), Bill Higgins

The Year in Physics and Astronomy

Saturday 17:00 - 17:50

An annual roundup of the latest research and discoveries in physics and astronomy. Our experts will talk about what's new and interesting, cutting-edge and speculative: the Higgs, solar and extrasolar planets, dark energy, and much more besides.

Mark L. Olson (M), Bill Higgins, Guy Consolmagno, Jeff Hecht

[This will require some homework!]

The Dark Universe

Sunday 11:00 - 11:50

What are dark matter and dark energy? What is this dark universe that coexists alongside the cosmos we can see and feel? How apropos is George Lucas' description of The Force? (Obi-Wan Kenobi speaks of "[A]n energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.") Is there something in this idea that might reveal mysteries that keep eluding us -- and do we really want to find out?

Mark L. Olson (M), Bill Higgins, Elizabeth Bear, Guy Consolmagno

[This will also require homework. Where did I put that Dark Energy file I compiled when I... oh, right. I haven't blogged about that adventure yet.]



Vandals of the Void: The Chelyabinsk Meteor Strike of 2013

Sunday 13:00 - 13:50

One year ago, a window-shattering shock wave injured 1400 Russians and startled the world. A 20-meter asteroid had exploded in the sky above Chelyabinsk. Join Bill Higgins and Guy Consolmagno for a look at what scientists have learned about this striking event.

Bill Higgins, Guy Consolmagno

[I couldn't resist the opportunity to juice up my Chelyabinsk talk by drafting my favorite meteorite expert.]

This week, I got to use the word "boustrophedonic" in a sentence.

Then I realized that this was the first time in the current decade I had used it. It just doesn't come up very often.

(We had brought a roll of drawings into a beamline enclosure as a reference. When one leaves, one must check for radioactivity on ones's person or objects one is carrying. My colleague Mike was frisking the roll with a pancake counter, scanning it from end to end, rotating the roll a little, then moving the frisker in the other direction.)

If you, too, want to work "boustrophedonic" into your conversation, it may be best to go someplace where corn-on-the-cob is being served.

Last night I received stupefying news.

Professor Walter F. Smith of Haverford College has long curated an online collection of songs about physics. Because someone should, right?

Not only are they fun, he writes, but "In just one or two minutes, a song can dramatically transform the classroom atmosphere, creating a learning environment in which even students who are unsure of themselves are willing to speak up and ask questions. They engage additional areas of the students' brains; when a song is performed in class, students' retention of material for the entire class session is improved."

For several years, Prof. Smith has also conducted sing-alongs at the annual conference of the American Physical Society, the March Meeting. Because someone should, right?

As you may know, over the years, I have penned lyrics to a filksong or two about physics.

Prof. Smith e-mailed me last night to say that my song "Fusion Girl" had been sung at the March Meeting. Furthermore, this year he was fronting a band. Furthermore, a video has been created.

That's right. My 1989 song was sung at, as the Youtube notes remind us,

THE LARGEST ANNUAL GATHERING OF PHYSICISTS IN THE WORLD.

(Emphasis mine.)

I just about plotzed.

I am grateful to the good Professor and his colleagues for keeping this elderly song alive. And tickled pink about it.

Below, what I wrote in 1989.
( Here are the lyrics. )

Here in Batavia, Illinois, Fermilab offers a Family Open House on Sunday, 10 February, from 1 PM to 5 PM.

If you haven't seen Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or if there's someone in your life you want to show it to, this is a good chance.

(I won't be able to attend. But I've already seen it.)

Alex Wellerstein, a historian at the American Institute of Physics, writes the fascinating "Restricted Data" blog, which is devoted to the history of nuclear secrecy and related matters. From time to time he comments on matters graphical, and today he has blogged about the atom-and-olive-branch logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He writes:

It’s not only an atom, it’s an atom with style. It’s got a classic late-1950s/early-1960s asymmetrical, jaunty swagger. Those electrons are swinging, baby!

I realized that I must tell Alex the story of the shirts.

Once upon a time-- it may have been the summer of 2006-- a bunch of us were about to go camping on land owned by a friend. One of many activities planned was the explosive dyeing of T-shirts: wrap primacord around a bag of dye, surround it with wooden racks holding wet T-shirts, detonate. The "pyrocolor" process results in an interesting splatter pattern; if you do it right, not many holes are torn in the shirts by flying debris.

Anyway, Richard Rostrom, whom I know as a programmer, science fiction fan, history buff, and raconteur, wanted some inexpensive white T-shirts to pyrocolor. So he went to a store in Chicago that sells cheap discounted garments.

He found the white T-shirts he was looking for. But he also found a surprise.

There was a whole rack of nice polo shirts, navy blue with cream trim.

Each was embroidered with the logo of the IAEA, and the words "INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA."



Dickering with the store's owner, Rich took the polo shirts off his hands.

Every. Single. One.

The first I learned of this was a few days later, at Camp Wannamakeabigboom. Rich produced a large garbage bag. He told the story I have just told you. And he gave away all the shirts, save one for himself.

As Alex says of the IAEA, "Heck, I’ll go so far as to say that they have the coolest logo of any atomic-energy organization in history." Never have campers been more nattily attired. Blue shirts were everywhere. We realized that, if we wanted to, we could dine in the restaurants of the Upper Peninsula posing as a group of international weapons inspectors. (Not that we did such a thing.)

I love my shirt dearly, and I am very grateful to Mr. Rostrom for his generous gift. I was an Atomic Age boy. I grew up to work in a physics lab. I admire the work of the IAEA in taming proliferation of nuclear weapons. This is one cool shirt.

This has also become my "shirt to wear when you are having your picture taken someplace interesting." (Which is related to my motto, "Never pass a fiberglass mascot!")
( Photo collection is behind cut )

Who knows how or why these shirts found their way to a Chicago store? All I know is that I benefited from Rich's serendipitous find.

It's a great agency. It's a great logo. It's a great shirt.

Today marks 100 years since the birth of Robert Alden Cornog (1912-1998), physicist and engineer.

With Luis Alvarez, he discovered that tritium (the hydrogen-3 nucleus) is radioactive, and that helium-3 occurs in nature. He was an early recruit to the Manhattan Project, working with Robert R. Wilson and Richard Feynman on isotope separation at Princeton, then packing up and moving to Los Alamos for the duration of World War II.

Cornog eventually worked in the emerging aerospace industry of 1950s California. When the U.S. made its first attempt to launch a rocket to the Moon, Cornog was involved. Later he specialized in high-vacuum systems.

Here's a 1992 video interview with Bob Cornog:

Some years ago, I wrote an article about Cornog and his close friendship with Robert Heinlein, for Eric Picholle's book on Heinlein and nuclear weapons. If you'd like to see this chapter, let me know and I'll send you a PDF.

Happy 100th, Dr. Cornog.