Hans-Uno Bengtsson was associate professor at the Department of Theoretical Physics at Lund University, Sweden. According to Wikipedia, Lund University web pages and people I've talked to, he was also an outstanding lecturer. My experience with his work is his writings on the physics of food and drink, although he published a host of other texts on physics, both scientific and popular. To Scandinavian readers, I'd recommend the two books any time
- "Koka soppa på fysik" ("Cooking soup on physics"[?]), a collaboration with the chef Jan Boris-Möller.
A collection of short texts on various food subjects, connecting apparently unrelated subects in an elegant and subtle way
- "Kring flaskor og fysik" ("On bottles and physics"), together with sommelier Mischa Billing.
A conversation between the two authors leading the reader through a meal, discussing various likely and unlikely subjects on the way.
My fascination about these two books is his special ability to interweave complicated physical subjects into the food and drink in a way that makes me gasp from the physics and maths without being put off (i.e. discussing adiabatic expansion in connection with the little "cloud" that arises when a champagne bottle is opened). In fact, in the bottles vs. physics book, he leaves the calculation in the book, but separates it in such a way that the reader very well may skip this part without loosing the thread. Also, the great aesthetic sense that characterises these two books, reveals a great gift both in terms of language/writing and visually.
Finally, I was fortunate enough to experience him a few times on a food programme on TV ("Mat"/"Food" with Tina on Swedish television), amongst others discussing the most efficient way of cooling your champagne: wrap it in a wet towel, strap it on your motorbike and go for a ride :)I've been hoping for more food- and drink related contributions by Hans-Uno Bengtsson. Unfortunately that won't be, and as I've understood, I'm not the only one that will miss further contributions from Hans-Uno Bengtsson, who left us far too soon.
Erik
It is suprising how some articles can really get you thinking in curious directions. Like other Science teachers at TutorInn, I am also on constant lookout for articles from different fields. A link of this article for future reference is well justified. The links tell us whcih sites to pass to students and which ones to avoid.
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Christina
www.tutorinn.com
Hans was my professor at UCLA back in 1989. He was great! It was a lower division class of over 200 students full of engineering and science students. He brought in liquid nitrogen to the class and froze an apple in an instant, dropped on the ground and it shattered into a million pieces. the he took a cup of liquid nitrogen and threw the content at the students! haha. he also put on a rubber glove, froze his thumb and hit the thumb with a hammer. thumb shattered into pieces, only to find out he had put a hot dog in the glove.
ReplyDeletehe also walked to burning coal, lied down on a bed of nails, played an ancient japanese musical instrument.... he was a phenomenal guy.