The Face of STEM: How Physicists Became Pop Idols

Potograph of Physiscists in the Solvay Conference (1927) where scientists met to discuss about the new theory of quantum physics. Some of the most famous names in the history of science are present in this image: such as Eistein, Schroodinger, Plank, Bohr and Curie.

If you take a quick glance at the photo above, you might see nothing more than a group of serious, well-dressed middle aged men. You know that the picture is a bit old, the free use of mustaches, tiny monocle-like glasses and m’lady hats are not nearly as common as back in the 1920’s. What a time to be alive…I guess. If you take a second gland you might recognize a few faces, in the center we have Albert Einstein, the face of pop physics and the borderline dishonoring E=mc² merch.

If you thought saying E=mc² merch is offensive was an exaggeration, I present to you this Energy = milk x coffee² travesty of a mug.

You might also recognize another famous name, Erin Schroodinger, a physicist well-known the theoretical experiment of the “dead and alive” Schroodinger’s cat, as an analogy to the wave-particle duality of an atom. Max Plank was another Physicist that became popular in pop culture after the third season of the show Stranger Things aired on Netflix. The show gained popularity in 2016 with supernatural phenomena like telekinesis, paralell universes and strange creatures. In the third season, the Planck’s constant (6.62607004 × 10–34 m2 kg / s) was used as a code cricial for defeating (at least temporarily) creatures from the “Upsidown”.

This is another merchandized inspired by Stranger Things’ reference to Planck’s constant.

However the main questions in the midst of the popularization of physicists into pop culture is not “why”. Despise my sarcasm, I can appreciate the humor in science jokes and popularized use as much as anyone else. But the reason why I find these trends particularly fascinating is because I do not know “how” tv shows, books, and articles started using (as misusing) theories for the sake on entertainment.

The series “The Face of STEM” will explore how it all happened, the advatages and downsides of pop science, and why it affects each individual in society one way or another. Seat belts on. Time to board.