Plasmons: The Value of Pencil and Paper

December 18, 2020

I read “Physicists Solve Geometrical Puzzle in Electromagnetism.” I am not sure the title captures what the researchers discovered, but, hey, this is the era of the thumbtyper. Close enough for horse shoes. The technology focuses on the movement of electrons. The insights gleaned from the research will have some influence on new types of materials. But the write up contains a gem of an insight. Here’s the quote:

Guillaume Weick from the University of Strasbourg adds: “There is a trend for increasing reliance on heavy duty computations in order to describe plasmonic systems. In our throwback work, we reveal humble pen-and-paper calculations can still explain intriguing phenomena at the forefront of metamaterials research”.

Yes, indeed. Hands on, erasers, cross outs, and elbow grease have value.

Stephen E Arnold, December 18, 2020

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