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James Ferrando

@jamesferrando

Particle physicist at Lancaster University @atlasexperiment.bsky.social. Personal account, all views expressed are my own

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06.02.2024
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Latest posts by James Ferrando @jamesferrando

GCSE Maths and GCSE Sciences formulae and equation sheets fo… Find GCSE Maths and GCSE Sciences formulae and equation sheets for exams in 2025

I see the AQA 2025 GCSE formula sheet includes area of trapezium and of a circle which seems on the excessive side to me, but some of the higher level formulae included seem fair enough. www.aqa.org.uk/news/gcse-ma...

02.03.2026 14:30 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

yes, it's arguable like that depending on whether you are trying to assess knowledge, skills or understanding. At uni level it's useful giving formula sheets so that you can set more challenging questions and not have people simply be unable to start or go astray by slightly misremembering formulae.

02.03.2026 14:28 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Well there is a subtlety here, if the formula is given then the candiadtes won't get marks simply for remembering formulae but rather for the application of them to actually do something useful.

02.03.2026 13:26 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Open letter to the Science Minister from Heads of Physics Heads of Physics departments have expressed concern about UKRI funding changes.

An open letter has been sent to Lord Vallance from 57 heads of UK physics departments and institutes, including all of the heads of physics departments of the Russell group.

www.iop.org/about/news/o...

02.03.2026 07:54 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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The Apprentice's Sorcerer Or I how I learned to start worrying and love Claude Code

πŸ€–NEW POST ON AIπŸ€–

Perhaps you're thinking like Brenda from Bristol, 'not another one!' but... I felt that lots of writing about Claude Code doesn't really show you how it works. So I thought well, why not? And along the way some bad literary allusions. 1/n

benansell.substack.com/p/the-appren...

19.02.2026 11:02 πŸ‘ 93 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 3

Post a banger not in English youtu.be/rmv8m1d3PVc?...

09.02.2026 18:56 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Ah found it, it Way of X #1

06.02.2026 12:57 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I've seen this partly reference in one of the Krakoan-era x-men storylines (Way of X, Legion of X or Uncanny Spiderman I think) which had Nightcrawler (canonically Roman Catholic) being questioned about the fact that the god he puts his faith in is the only one who never turns up in their universe.

06.02.2026 12:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Marvel's Immortal X-Men Implies Jesus Christ Was Actually a Mutant A former X-Men supervillain hints that Jesus Christ, himself, may have actually been a mutant in the Marvel Universe in Immortal X-Men #1.

Not a character, but (fairly) recently implied to have been a mutant
www.cbr.com/immortal-x-m...

06.02.2026 12:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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El pueblo unido jamΓ‘s serΓ‘ vencido

A Classic of the Nueva CanciΓ³n that speaks to the moment

open.spotify.com/track/1hcVUv...

3/X

25.01.2026 00:43 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Dragons | Developer Update | January 2026
Dragons | Developer Update | January 2026 YouTube video by MarvelSnap

Love the usage of and collaboration with the marvel multiverse TTRPG in this month's Snap developer update www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7TV...

05.01.2026 23:23 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Missing dog in Hamburg, Germany πŸ‘‡
πŸ™ Repost if have followers around there

04.01.2026 23:39 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]

JANET:
Ugh...

LIZ:
What's up?

JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!

LIZ:
Have you tried...

AI peas?

JANET:
AI peas?

LIZ:
They're peas with AI!

[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].

LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas

JANET:
What

LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]

Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?

[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]

LIZ:

Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine

[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]

LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!

JANET:
What

LIZ:
Shut up

LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow

From opening the bag of peas

to boiling the peas

to eating the peas

To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.

JANET:
Is it really necessary to-

LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET

[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:

AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.

[Ends]

[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.] JANET: Ugh... LIZ: What's up? JANET: I am so bored of cooking peas! LIZ: Have you tried... AI peas? JANET: AI peas? LIZ: They're peas with AI! [Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI]. LIZ: Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas JANET: What LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines] Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas? [Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it] LIZ: Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine [Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas] LIZ: With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas! JANET: What LIZ: Shut up LIZ: Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow From opening the bag of peas to boiling the peas to eating the peas To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means. JANET: Is it really necessary to- LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]: THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET [Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan: AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas. [Ends]

Every ad now

13.11.2025 17:38 πŸ‘ 5999 πŸ” 2636 πŸ’¬ 70 πŸ“Œ 111
INSPIRE

Interested in a fully funded PhD place in Experimental Particle Physics in Edinburgh?

We have fully funded studentships, including a specific scholarship for students from a Black heritage (including mixed Black background).

More info: inspirehep.net/jobs/3080808

08.11.2025 09:23 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

As I have seen others say, he was a tremendously kind man who was very supportive and encouraging of those he taught and/or supervised.

07.11.2025 09:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Professor Robin Devenish (1942–2025) - Hertford College | University of Oxford It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of Hertford Emeritus Fellow Robin Devenish, who died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on 27 October. Robin was appointed to a Un...

Sad news. It was fantastic to be taught by Robin as a student and then to work with him as a colleague.

07.11.2025 09:08 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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There's still time to apply for our Career Development Fellowship scheme, which aims to support the retention in STEM of researchers from underrepresented backgrounds. The deadline for this application round is Wednesday 19 November: https://royalsociety.org/grants/career-development-fellowship/

28.10.2025 12:50 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Resonant laser ablation selectively destroys pancreatic tumours – Physics World A mid-infrared femtosecond laser tuned to the collagen absorption peak can ablate pancreatic cancer while preserving healthy pancreatic tissues

Tuning the treatment laser to the collagen absorption peak could enable efficient pancreatic tumour ablation with minimal damage to healthy tissue. πŸ§ͺβš›οΈ physicsworld.com/a/resonant-l...

23.10.2025 08:33 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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UK immigration costs: an international comparison of skilled worker, researcher and student visas in 2025 | Royal Society 2025 update to the Royal Society's analyses of upfront immigration costs in the UK and 17 other leading science nations.

Here’s the link to the full @royalsociety.org report on UK researcher visa costs compared to other countries
royalsociety.org/news-resourc...

21.10.2025 08:36 πŸ‘ 29 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

If any Labour MPs are reading (go on, you know you want to), as someone trying to hire six new Oxford professors in AI / experiments / big data / all the stuff you say you want, I would really appreciate knowing if new hires can, you know, stay in the country they move to... current policy is chaos

20.10.2025 20:55 πŸ‘ 219 πŸ” 44 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 3

All of which is to say, this has costs, for us in HE sure, but also for business, medicine, finance, tech, arts and entertainment, pharmaceuticals. The industries that this country is a world leader in. And if you cannot fathom why this uncertainty is a problem then you are not fit to govern.

20.10.2025 20:57 πŸ‘ 140 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

The final release before they discontinued expansions improved it a lot.

12.10.2025 10:25 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

β€œThis morning, Germany is one nation again.”

This is how BBC Breakfast News reported on German reunification, 35 years ago today.

03.10.2025 06:43 πŸ‘ 262 πŸ” 87 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 15
Aerial view of Oxford at sunrise, showcasing historic buildings and a vibrant sky.

Aerial view of Oxford at sunrise, showcasing historic buildings and a vibrant sky.

Daybreak over the Bridge of Sighs πŸŒ…

πŸ“· Instagram | Juncao_Oxford

03.09.2025 08:12 πŸ‘ 38 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 2
β€’ Discontinue the idea of introducing a levy on higher education provider income from international students.
β€’ Reduce visa costs to ensure they are at least as competitive in cost as other leading science nations, and preferably have a target to become the mos competitive in the G7.
β€’ Provide immediate clarity that the current time length for Indefinite Leave to Remain is kept in place for current and future Global Talent visa holders and their dependents.

β€’ Discontinue the idea of introducing a levy on higher education provider income from international students. β€’ Reduce visa costs to ensure they are at least as competitive in cost as other leading science nations, and preferably have a target to become the mos competitive in the G7. β€’ Provide immediate clarity that the current time length for Indefinite Leave to Remain is kept in place for current and future Global Talent visa holders and their dependents.

We are calling on the UK Government to not introduce a levy on higher education provider income from international students, reduce visa costs to attract global talent, and to review higher education funding to create a sustainable model
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...

10.07.2025 08:54 πŸ‘ 325 πŸ” 153 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 12
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Cancer research β€˜set back years’ as visa fees drive scien... With vital studies being shelved and foreign experts turning down jobs, leading charity urges ministers to act

β€œHigh visa fees are putting off some of the world’s most talented scientists from coming to the UK,” said Foulkes, with β€œWe need to be able to compete for the world’s best scientists.” research institutes forced to divert funds from labs to pay fees.”
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

24.08.2025 06:12 πŸ‘ 26 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 2
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The Sofa

A song that brings Wolf Alice's excellent new album "The Clearing", to a satisfying conlcusion.

open.spotify.com/track/6APpl5...

2/X

22.08.2025 15:32 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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OpenStax | Free Textbooks Online with No Catch OpenStax offers free college textbooks for all types of students, making education accessible & affordable for everyone. Browse our list of available subjects!

The openstax textbooks are pretty great if you weren't already aware of them: openstax.org/details/book...

18.08.2025 20:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

ditto β€œ1066 and all that”, possibly β€œdiary of a nobody” though I haven’t reread the latter in ages.

12.08.2025 10:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Saki’s short stories are also still funny I’d say, at least in my memory of them.

12.08.2025 10:24 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0