Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community: a Bose-Einstein Condensates - The Coldest Matter In The Universe
Prof. Wolfgang Ketterle
Mon Jan 10, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
What happens when a gas is cooled to absolute zero? A new door to the quantum world opens up because all the atoms start "marching in lockstep", they form one giant matter wave - the Bose-Einstein condensate. This was predicted by Einstein in 1925, but only realized in 1995 in laboratories at Boulder and at MIT. Since then, many properties of this mysterious form of matter have been revealed. Recently, a new frontier has opened up on Bose-Einstein condensation of molecules and atom pairs. The talk will link basic concepts of quantum mechanics with today's research, and discuss the techniques to cool and manipulate matter at nanokelvin temperatures.
Contact: Ray Ashoori, 13-2053, ashoori@mit.edu
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Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community: b From Theoretical Physics to Quantitative Finance
Mark Mueller, MIT Alumni
Wed Jan 12, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
What does physics have in common with financial markets? Are the skills of a theoretical or experimental physicist useful in the analysis of financial markets? How can physicists or other scientists and engineers pursue careers in quantitative finance? The speaker’s answers to these questions will form the basis for a discussion that promises to range from the practical aspects of job-hunting to philosophical questions about the role of mathematical models in describing and organizing what we observe.
Contact: Ray Ashoori, 13-2053, ashoori@mit.edu
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Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community: c Exploring the Structure of Matter
Prof. Bernd Surrow
Thu Jan 13, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
The question,"What is matter made of?" has a long tradition in mankind. Our current physical understanding of the world is summarized in the Standard Model. Many of its predictions were confirmed with great success. Scattering experiments played an important role in our understanding of hadronic matter. These results contributed to the test of the field theory among quarks and gluons known as Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). After a brief overview of the basic ingredients of particle physics, the general methodologies used to explore the structure of matter are presented. Selected experimental results will be shown on the structure of the proton in comparison to QCD predictions including a discussion of open questions.
Contact: Prof. Bernd Surrow, 26-402, 324-1522, surrow@lns.mit.edu
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Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community: d Celestial Mechanics from Newton to Einstein
Prof. Scott Hughes
Wed Jan 19, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Celestial mechanics is one of the greatest achievements of Newton's theory of gravity. Newton's law is universal: A single law describes gravity on the surface of the earth and between celestial bodies. Einstein taught us that Newton's gravity is incomplete. His general theory of relativity subsumed Newton's gravity, correcting some inconsistencies and revealing new features. One of the best ways to test general relativity is again by studying orbits. In this lecture, I will show how celestial mechanics is modified as we go from Newton to Einstein, detailing the subtle differences found in the solar system, the significant effects found in some stellar systems, and the enormous effects that we aim to observe in the near future.
Contact: Prof. Scott Hughes, 37-626C, 253-8523, sahughes@mit.edu
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Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community: e The Physics of Frustration in Quantum Magnets
Prof. Young Lee
Fri Jan 21, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Can new states of matter be created using an ordinary oven? One of the central issues in condensed matter physics focuses on understanding the exotic phases which emerge from collections of interacting electrons. This talk will introduce the basic concepts in this active field of research. The powerful technique of neutron scattering, an essential tool in this pursuit, will be described. Intriguing new materials will be highlighted, ranging from novel superconductors to the quest for the "holy grail" of spin frustration here at MIT.
Contact: Prof. Young Lee, 13-2153, 253-7834, younglee@mit.edu
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Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community: f What's the Matter with Antimatter?
Prof. Gabriella Sciolla
Mon Jan 24, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
The Big Bang model predicts that equal amounts of matter and antimatter were produced at the beginning of time. So how can the Universe exist? Why didn't all the matter annihilate with the antimatter? Why did some matter survive? Why not antimatter? Particle Physics has an explanation to these questions that goes under the name of "CP violation". What is CP violation? Can it be measured in the lab? Does it explain the Universe as we know it? These and other questions will be addressed in this talk.
Contact: Prof. Gabriella Sciolla, 26-551, 258-0541, sciolla@mit.edu
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Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community: g Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: A Tool for Atomic Scale Measurement
Prof. Eric Hudson
Wed Jan 26, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
As technology drives electronics towards "nanoelectronics," where wires are a few atoms wide and transistors are sensitive to single electrons, physicists must have a tool to investigate the new phenomena that arise in this regime. The Scanning Tunneling Microscope is one such tool, and in this talk I will highlight its ability to image and move atoms, and discuss some results of my research on high temperature superconductors.
Contact: Prof. Eric Hudson, 13-2114, 452-2115, ehudson@mit.edu
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Teaching Physics Since WWII: A Panel Discussion
Stephanie Hunt
Wed Jan 26, 03-04:30pm, N-52 2nd floor
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Everyone knows about the Nobel Prizes won by MIT physics professors, but do you know how the department invented and reinvented new approaches to introductory physics? Every MIT undergraduate takes physics, and while some of the basic experiments haven't changed in 150 years, the way the class is taught has been revolutionized. The last 60 years have seen the most dramatic of these changes to the landscape of physics education.
Web: http://emergingtech.mit.edu/iap05/
Contact: Stephanie Hunt, N52-231, x3-4405, sdh@mit.edu
Cosponsor: MIT Museum
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The Feynman Films
Markos Hankin
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Prereq: None
This series of films by Richard Feynman is open to the MIT community.
Contact: Markos Hankin, 4-309, 253-4844, mhankin@mit.edu
The Law of Gravitation
Markos Hankin
Mon Jan 3, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
The Best Mind Since Einstein
Markos Hankin
Wed Jan 5, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
The Relation of Mathematics to Physics
Markos Hankin
Thu Jan 6, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
The Great Conservation Principles
Markos Hankin
Mon Jan 10, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
Symmetry in Physical Law
Markos Hankin
Wed Jan 12, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
The Last Journey of a Genius
Markos Hankin
Thu Jan 13, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
Take the World from Another Point of View
Markos Hankin
Wed Jan 19, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
The Distinction of Past and Future
Markos Hankin
Fri Jan 21, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
Probability and Uncertainty
Markos Hankin
Mon Jan 24, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
Seeking New Laws
Markos Hankin
Wed Jan 26, 12-01:30pm, 6-120
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