2020 summer quiz – part 1
Think you know your physics trivia? Test your mettle with our two-part summer quiz. We begin with general physics, astronomy, the 60th anniversary of the invention of the laser, as well as physics in art and fiction. Next month we’ll test you on quantum physics, Nobel trivia, music and more. Answers to both parts will be printed in September.
General physics
1 Which activity did madcap German theoretical physicist Theodor Kaluza (pictured) successfully do for the first time after only ever having studied it in a book?
A Chess B Swimming C Knitting D Yoga
2 Where did pioneering physicist James Joule carry out his early experiments on thermodynamics?
A In a brewery B On a farm C In a river D In his bedroom
3 What pet belonging to top Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell appears on his statue in Edinburgh?
A Cat B Hamster C Dog D Budgie
4 When Isaac Newton died, which of these was not in his possession?
A Cheese toaster B Brown teapot C Mohair bed D Shower curtain
5 Physicists Sabine Hossenfelder and Tim Palmer recently recorded a spoof coronavirus version of which song?
A “Stayin’ alive” – The Bee Gees B “Sick and tired” – The Cardigans C “It’s the end of the world as we know it” – REM D “Heaven knows I’m miserable now” – The Smiths
All about astro
1 What object left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts do some scientists think should be retrieved by a future lunar mission?
A Alan Shepard’s golf ball B Buzz Aldrin’s bag of faeces C Harrison Schmitt’s rock hammer D Gene Cernan’s lunar rover
2 Who or what are Harriot, Wangshu, Abol and Umbäässa?
A Comets B Exoplanets C Craters on Mars D Presidents of the International Astronomical Union
3 What name was given to the two ultrahigh-energy neutrinos detected in 2014 by the IceCube observatory?
A Bill and Ben B Bert and Ernie C Tom and Jerry D Batman and Robin
4 What topping featured on a Pizza Hut pizza delivered to the International Space Station in 2001?
A Anchovies B Mushrooms C Pepperoni D Salami
5 What society did astronomers Mary Blagg, Ella Church, Grace Cook and Fiammetta Wilson become the first elected fellows of in 1916?
A Royal Society B American Astronomical Society C Royal Astronomical Society D Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Laser at 60
1 In the first laser – demonstrated on 16 May 1960 by Ted Maiman – the lasing medium was a crystal of pink ruby. Which of the following substances can also be made to lase?
A Gin and tonic B Flavoured gelatin C Carrots D All of these
2 The output power of early lasers was measured in “Gillettes”. But who or what does this unit refer to?
A A Bell Labs researcher called Gillette who sustained minor burns in the first documented laser-safety incident B A US mispronunciation of gilet, the item of clothing set on fire during the first documented laser-safety incident C A New Jersey suburb where several of the early laser pioneers at Bell Labs lived D The number of razor blades the laser could cut through
3 In the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, the villain threatens to slice Bond in half with a laser. In Ian Fleming’s original novel – published in 1959, before the laser was invented – what object takes its place?
A A samurai sword suspended on a thread B A circular saw C An industrial meat grinder D There is no such scene in the novel
4 What was the first toy to incorporate a real laser?
A Star Wars lightsaber (1977) B Star Trek phaser (1979) C Glowing E.T. finger (1982) D Ghostbusters proton pack (1984)
5 Which facility holds the current world record for laser power, at 10 PW?
A The Extreme Light Infrastructure in Romania B The Laser for Fast Ignition Experiments in Japan C The National Ignition Facility in the US D The Station of Extreme Light in China
The art of physics
1 What was the name of the physicist in Hergé’s Tintin comics?
A Professor Calculus B Dr Maths C Prof. Angle D Dr Division
2 Who played Nikola Tesla in the 2006 film The Prestige?
A Hugh Jackman B Christian Bale C David Bowie D Michael Caine
3 Which band had a visual representation of the pulsar CP 1919 as the cover image for their debut album?
A Oasis B Joy Division C The Happy Mondays D The Smiths
4 Which artist painted a special instrument calibration chart for the Beagle 2 lander (pictured)?
A David Hockney B Tracey Emin C Sarah Lucas D Damien Hirst
5 Who wrote about the Big Bang in their 1846 prose poem Eureka?
A Edgar Allen Poe B Walt Whitman C William Carlos Williams D Emily Dickinson
Special thanks to our quiz setters – Sam Illingworth, Matin Durrani and Margaret Harris