2010 EAPS Lecture Series: The Moon
Linda Elkins-Tanton
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
On this 40th anniversary of man landing on the Moon, we will explore the intersecting topics of lunar space missions, both recent and future, the policy and engineering of sending robotic and manned missions to the Moon, and the state of lunar science, from the distant origins of the body to the most recent discoveries.
Contact: Vicki McKenna, 54-910, x3-3380, vsm@mit.edu
Sponsor: Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
The Search for a Lunar Dynamo
Ian Garrick-Bethell Goddard Space Flight Center
The Moon does not presently possess a global magnetic field, but lunar rocks are magnetized and the lunar crust contains strong magnetic anomalies. Two explanations for this are an ancient core dynamo and a process related to the impact of meteoroids. Using the magnetic remanence carried by an ancient lunar rock, we have found evidence of a core dynamo on the early Moon.
webcast: http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/
Tue Jan 19, 12-01:00pm, 54-915
Water, water, everywhere?
Prof. Carle Pieters Professor, Brown University
Tue Jan 19, 01:30-02:00pm, 54-915
Water and other volatiles in lunar magmas
Reid Cooper Professor, Brown University
Tue Jan 19, 02-02:30pm, 54-915
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter observations of hydrogen on the Moon
Maria Zuber
Tue Jan 19, 02:30-03:00pm, 54-915
Early lunar evolution:The origin and likely levels of interior water
Linda Elkins-Tanton
Tue Jan 19, 03-03:30pm, 54-915
Meet the Moon rocks
Tim Grove
Meet the moon rocks in a lab setting, including examining them through a petrographic microscope.
Tue Jan 19, 04-05:00pm, 54-317
Placing People on the Moon: A Look at the Technical and Political Contexts
Phil Hattis Draper Laboratory/AIAA Vice President for Public Policy
Getting people to the Moon requires sustained effort to develop the technical capability with the political support to fund those programs and their human spaceflight application. The technology and the political status at the time of Apollo will be reviewed. That will be compared and contrasted with the current technical capabilities and political environment which are impacting efforts to return to the Moon and beyond.
Wed Jan 20, 12-01:00pm, 54-915
Rocks from the Moon: What we learned from samples returned by the Apollo astronauts
Prof. Tim Grove
Mon Jan 25, 12-01:00pm, 54-915
|
Chandra X-ray Observatory and New Visions of the Center of Our Galaxy
Dr. Frederick Baganoff
Fri Jan 15, 03-03:45pm, NE80-6035, 6th floor in building NE80
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Prereq: none
A new generation of telescopes and instruments have revealed the core of the Milky Way in spectacular detail. Ground-based telescopes have traced the path of a star that passed within just 17 light-hours of the dark massive object at the center of the galaxy. An analysis of the star's motion indicates that the dark object has a mass of about 3.7 millions suns, and provides the strongest evidence to date for the existence of a supermassive black hole. The new observations have revealed fantastic images of the interactions between giant molecular clouds, expanding supernova blast waves, and stellar winds from clusters of hot young stars that are frantically blowing off their outer atmospheres.
I will also describe Chandra X-ray Observatory; the tour of its Operation Center will immediately follow the lecture.
Contact: Gregory Prigozhin, 37-561, x3-7246, gyp@space.mit.edu
Sponsor: Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
|
Health and Safety Issues of Nanomaterials
Marilyn Hallock, Dan Kallin, Carolyn Stahl
Fri Jan 22, 10-11:30am, 46-3189
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
The exciting field of nanotechnology is creating the next industrial revolution in engineering. It is also creating the new field of nanotoxicology. Are nanoparticles more toxic than dust particles we normally work with? Could carbon nanotubes possibly be the next asbestos? Come find out what we know and don't know and how to work safely in your laboratory with nanomaterials. Will include update of this year's research findings on nanotoxicology.
No prerequisite.
Contact: Melissa Kavlakli, N52-496, x2-3233, mjpotter@mit.edu
Sponsor: Environment, Health and Safety Office
|
How to Write a Successful Grant Application
Dr. Stephen Steadman
Tue Jan 26, 03-04:00pm, 26-414
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Many researchers writing grant applications make serious errors despite having outstanding ideas that are well worth support by federal agencies. These include sending the proposal to the wrong program, missing deadlines for proposal submission, and submitting incomplete or poorly written proposals. A description of the proposal process will be presented with information to help avoid these and other errors, with particular emphasis on funding in the physical sciences by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Dr. Steadman has been a Program Director/Manager in both agencies. Please send email request by Monday, Jan. 25 for a copy of handout materials. Video conferencing of presentation may be arranged -- please contact S. Steadman.
Contact: Stephen Steadman, 26-505, x8-8678, steadman@mit.edu
Sponsor: Lab for Nuclear Science
|
Implementations of Quantum Computing
Clarice Aiello
Mon-Fri, Jan 11-15, 18-22, 01-02:30pm, 36-428
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Prereq: basic background in Quantum Mechanics
When will Quantum Computing become a reality? It is already!
This class will present the basics and review recent developments in the experimental implementation of Quantum Computing ideas. Emphasis will be placed on the comparison of different flavors of "quantum bits".
The lecturers are graduate students and post-docs working in the field. Refreshments and snacks will be served daily.
The class is sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Quantum Information Science and Engineering Program. The iQuISE program is supported by the National Science Foundation.
Web: http://IQuISE.mit.edu
Contact: Clarice Aiello, 26-313, (617) 253-7989, clarice@mit.edu
Sponsor: Research Laboratory of Electronics
Cosponsor: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: a Science and Technology in Africa: What Path Forward?
Professor Sekazi Mtingwa
Wed Jan 6, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
This talk will present the state of science and technology in Africa, especially as regards their impact on African nations’ economies, environment and health. More specifically, there are many initiatives presently underway and we will describe two of them: the African Laser Centre and the newly proposed Julius K. Nyerere, University of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Mara Region of Tanzania. The speaker has been involved in both initiatives and will report on his activities and speculate on what the future holds for their success.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: b Quantitative Finance
David Brahm, Ph.D., CFA
Thu Jan 7, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
How does a physicist view the financial markets?
Securities are valued as discounted future cash flows, and stock prices are stochastic variables.
Derivatives can be priced using the no-arbitrage theorem, leading to the Black-Scholes partial differential equation.
Portfolio construction is a quadratic optimization problem with Lagrange multipliers.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: c Hot Quark Soup
Professor Krishna Rajagopal
Mon Jan 11, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
What was the universe like microseconds after the big bang? At very high temperatures, protons and neutrons fall apart - the quarks that are ordinarily confined within them are freed. Matter at these temperatures was thought to be a tenuous gas-like plasma. Then, experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven started recreating little droplets of big bang matter. And nature served up hot quark soup-the stuff of the big bang turns out to be a liquid. This realization has allowed, even driven, physicists trying to predict further properties of hot quark soup to use calculations done via string theory.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: d Magnetic Reconnection: a Celestial Phenomenon in the Laboratory
Professor Jan Egedal
Wed Jan 13, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Plasmas, the ionized gas in lightning bolts, tube lights, and most of interstellar space, are generally an excellent conductor of electricity. An important consequence is that generally plasmas are “frozen” to magnetic field lines. Many plasmas, however, can occasionally and rapidly break free, in a process called magnetic reconnection. This process controls the evolution of solar flares, and it allows the solar wind to enter the Earth's magnetosphere. The process of magnetic reconnection is created and studied experimentally on the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF). Our analysis reveals that a new mechanism--particle trapping--efficiently facilitates explosive reconnection.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: e Attaining the Thermodynamic Limits to Solar Cell Efficiency
Dr. Bonna Newman
Thu Jan 14, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Current single gap photovoltaic solar cells are fundamentally limited to efficiencies less that 31%. However, laboratory demonstrated cells using novel architectures and materials have achieved efficiencies as high at 41%. In this talk, we will explore the physical origins of fundamental efficiency limits and look at theoretical models and ideas for attaining higher solar cell efficiency. Finally, we will discuss experimental efforts to build an intermediate band solar cell, one specific high efficiency concepts.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: f The Magellanic Clouds: Milky Way Satellites or Just Passing By?
Dr. Nitya Kallivayalil
Tue Jan 19, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Single session event
The Magellanic Clouds, two of the Milky Way's closest neighboring galaxies, have been studied for centuries and used for navigation by the world's earliest explorers. Current theories of their evolution involve intense interaction with the Milky Way in which gas is stripped (the 'Magellanic Stream') from them as they orbit through the Milky way disk plane. However, recent 3-D velocities of the Clouds, obtained with HST, indicate that they might not be satellites of the Milky Way at all, but are rather on their first pass. This requires a reassessment of our understanding of the Clouds and the Milky Way.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: g The Enormous Subatomic Paradox
Professor Steve Nahn
Thu Jan 21, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Accompanying the start of the Large Hadron Collider has been speculation of discoveries treading the line between science and science fiction: mini-black holes, new particles, extra dimensions, mechanisms for how fundamental particles have any mass at all. Winnowing these subatomic hypotheses requires the largest accelerator and detectors ever built, and in 2010, with "luck", first results will percolate out.
Why are behemoths required to examine the smallest scales, and how do these experiments really work? We'll explore the LHC and one detector, the Compact Muon Solenoid, to add context to the adjudication of science or science fiction.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: h The LHC Won't Destroy the Planet (But Will Spark a Revolution)
Professor Jesse Thaler
Mon Jan 25, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Single session event
The Large Hadron Collider will not destroy the world. It will, however, revolutionize fundamental physics by providing insights into the origin of mass, the nature of dark matter, the apparent weakness of gravity, and the symmetry structure of our universe. This lecture will explain the scientific basis for particle physicists' confidence, both in the discovery potential of the LHC and in its absolute safety.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: i Nanotechnology in a Pencil Trace
Professor Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
Wed Jan 27, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
A new revolution in science and technology is stemming from exploring materials and devices at ever smaller length scales. Among these materials, recently discovered carbon nanostructures are beginning to show just how different their properties are from standard materials. In this talk I will introduce you to the latest newcomer to the family of carbon nanomaterials: graphene. Graphene, a single sheet of graphite, is a one atom-thick material where electrons propagate in a very intriguing way: their behavior mimics that of ultrarelativistic particles. Along with fascinating science, I will discuss the enormous potential of graphene in the area of nanoelectronics.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
|
MIT Physics Lecture Series: j A New Way to Measure Quantum Energy Levels of Electrons Inside Solids
Professor Ray Ashoori
Thu Jan 28, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
A basic knowledge of the energy levels of electrons in solids was key in making the semiconductor revolution possible. While methods have long existed for measuring energy levels near the surface of a material, it has proven difficult to probe, with precision, such levels inside of a material. By measuring charge flow from quantum tunneling induced by millions of short electrical pulses, we can now make accurate measurements of energy levels within a solid. Moreover, the energy resolution of the method is thousands of times finer than the most commonly used method for studying levels at the surface. This talk will describe the method as well as some surprising new physics that it has uncovered.
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
|
Nuclear Weapons: Physics, History, and Abolition?
Prof. Aron Bernstein, Professor David Kaiser, Professor Jim Walsh
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Prereq: None
This course will give an overview of the physics of nuclear weapons and their devastating effects. The history of their development will be covered as well as the discussions of their implications, including the debates of the atomic scientists who developed them and then tried vainly to control their use and spread.
Students are welcome to participate in any or all of these sessions. There will be time for questions and discussion.
Sponsors: Department of Physics, Lab for Nuclear Science, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Center for International Studies
Contact: Nancy Boyce, 4-315, 253-4461, nboyce@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
Prof. Aron Bernstein
Overview: history, physics history, history of weapons numbers in the cold war, outlook for reduction and elimination.
Wed Jan 20, 03-04:30pm, Kolker Room 26-414
Professor David Kaiser
The cold war history of the weapons deployment will be covered as well as the treaties which limited their use such as the nuclear test ban, anti ballistic missile treaty.
Thu Jan 21, 03-04:30pm, Kolker Room 26-414
Professor Jim Walsh
The threat of nuclear proliferation and the nuclear non-proliferation treaty will be covered. The current discussion about abolition of nuclear weapons will also be discussed.
Mon Jan 25, 03-04:30pm, Kolker Room 26-414
Prof. Aron Bernstein
Outlook for Nuclear Weapons Policy, Obama Administration, world reaction; The linking of these issues to the original scientists debate and MIT discussions will be covered. Lecturer AM Bernstein
Wed Jan 27, 03-04:30pm, Kolker Room 26-414
|
Plasma Science and Fusion Center IAP Series
Jeffrey Freidberg, Peter Catto, Paul Rivenberg
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
This series introduces plasma physics research and areas of related interest at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. See URL below.
Web: http://www.psfc.mit.edu/
Contact: Paul Rivenberg, NW16-284, x3-8101, rivenberg@psfc.mit.edu
Sponsor: Plasma Science and Fusion Center
The Lawson Criterion for Thermonuclear Ignition
Riccardo Betti U. of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics
In inertial confinement fusion (ICF), a shell of cryogenic deuterium and tritium ice is imploded at high velocities and low entropy to achieve high central temperatures and high areal densities. This talk will address how to indirectly measure the Lawson criterion in ICF implosions and assess
their performance with respect to the ignition conditions.
Wed Jan 20, 10-11:00am, NW17-218Topic
Dancing with the Stars: Quest for Fusion Energy
Abhay Ram
How do our earthly efforts to generate fusion energy compare with nature's working fusion reactors? This highly illustrative talk will compare and contrast the approach to fusion from a laboratory perspective with that taken by nature in forming and operating the Sun. The progress towards energy's holy grail will be part of the presentation.
Wed Jan 20, 11:15am-12:30pm, NW17-218
Tour of Alcator C-Mod
Tour guide TBD
The Alcator C-Mod tokamak is a well tested approach to fusion research that has produced decades of progress towards achieving fusion energy.
Wed Jan 20, 01-02:00pm, NW17-218
Fusion Energy and ITER: Physics and Technology Challenges
Jean Jacquinot CEA Gif-sur-Yvette, France
The scientific advisor to the French High Commissioner for Atomic Energy will summarize the state of fusion research and of ITER, the next-step international fusion effort, to be built in Cadarache, France. The presentation will focus on the exciting physics and technology challenges ahead.
Thu Jan 21, 10:30-11:30am, NW17-218
Designing a 24/7 Fusion Device Towards Solving Plasma-Materials Issues
Dennis Whyte
In future advanced fusion devices, magnetic fusion researchers will face the challenges of continuous plasma operation and enormous energy and particle throughput in plasma-facing materials. Prof. Whyte will discuss the science and engineering design of a small-scale plasma research device designed to operate 24/7 to address these challenges.
Thu Jan 21, 02-03:00pm, NW17-218
Closing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: The Case for Fusion-Fission Hybrid Reactors
Weston Stacey Georgia Tech
The Fusion-Fission Hybrid (FFH) concept seeks to extend the accessible operating regimes of critical nuclear reactors to achieve sustainable closed nuclear cycles. This talk will describe the the Sub-critical Advanced Burner Reactor (SABR) FFH, which is based on combining the leading tokamak fusion physics technology with sodium-cooled fast burner reactor and associated technologies under development.
Fri Jan 22, 10-11:00am, NW17-218, Cosponsored by CANES
Not Every Hybrid Turns into a Prius: The Case Against the Fusion-Fission Hybrid Concept
Don Steiner Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Fission is a viable and widely implemented energy technology. Fusion offers promise as an energy technology, but is yet to be demonstrated and must be viewed as a long-term option. This talk will present arguments as to why it is both premature and unnecessary to consider seriously the merger of these two energy technologies at this point in time.
Fri Jan 22, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218, Cosponsored by CANES
Tour of LDX
Jay Kesner
A joint project by MIT and Columbia University and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) consists of a superconducting magnet about the size and shape of a large truck tire. This half-ton magnet is levitated inside a huge vacuum chamber, using another powerful magnet above a large vacuum chamber. A talk about the project precedes the tour.
Mon Jan 25, 11-11:45am, NW17-218
First Results and Next Steps in the Path to Fusion Ignition at NIF
John Edwards Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
In the process of moving towards ignition experiments, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) recently completed its first implosion campaign. This talk will describe some of those results and the subsequent campaigns as NIF moves towards the start of ignition implosion experiments.
Tue Jan 26, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218
|
SPS Symposium Information Session
Todd Mooring
Tue Jan 12, Fri Jan 22, 04-05:00pm, 8-329 (PCR)
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Prereq: None
Thinking of participating in the Society of Physics Students' research symposium to be held in February? Get your questions answered at this informal drop-in event. SPS leaders and previous symposium participants will be on hand to discuss your project ideas, look at poster drafts, and whatever else you need to get ready for the symposium.
See also: SPS Symposium: How to Make a Poster
Contact: Todd Mooring, tmooring@mit.edu
Sponsor: Society of Physics Students
|
SPS Symposium: How to Make a Poster
Todd Mooring
Thu Jan 28, 04-05:00pm, 8-329 (PCR)
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Single session event
Prereq: None
Learn about how to make posters of your research and present them in a poster session at this presentation by physics graduate students. Graduate students will display some of their own posters, give tips on poster design, and explain what to do (and not do) at a poster session. This event is aimed at potential participants in the Society of Physics Students' research symposium to be held in February, but everyone is welcome.
See also: SPS Symposium Information Session
Contact: Todd Mooring, tmooring@mit.edu
Sponsor: Society of Physics Students
|
Star Formation Research with Space Telescopes
Dr. Norbert Schulz
Fri Jan 8, 02-03:00pm, 37-252 (Marlar)
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Prereq: none
The arrival of NASA's Three Great Observatories has revolutionized our perception about the Universe within the last decade. Specifically in the field of star formation the impact of these space observatories is most significant. While the Spitzer Space Telescope observes dust emissions in the infrared band, the Hubble Space Telescope mostly observes gaseous processes predominantly in the optical band.
The Chandra X-Ray Observatory finally complements the set in the X-ray band sensitive to hot gas and magnetic activity. This presentation
provides an overview over these activities and with focus on high energy processes in stellar formation.
Contact: Gregory Prigozhin, 37-561, 253-7246, gyp@space.mit.edu
Sponsor: Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
|
The Space Nanotechnology Laboratory: from Nanometers to Gigaparsecs
Dr. Ralf Heilmann
Tue Jan 12, 02-02:30pm, 37-252 (Marlar)
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
The Space Nanotechnology Lab (SNL) develops advanced lithographic and nano-fabrication technology for building high performance space instrumentation, as well as nanometer-accuracy metrology and assembly technology. Two current efforts are the development of an X-ray spectrogrpaph for the International X-ray Observatory, using novel nanofabricated transmission gratings, and the development of high-precision focusing X-ray mirrors. These instruments should help find the missing baryons in the Cosmic Web and reveal the secrets of dark matter. A tour of the facility for a limited number of guests will immediately follow the presentation.
Contact: Gregory Prigozhin, 37-561, 253-7246, gyp@space.mit.edu
Sponsor: Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
|
Tour of Space Nanotechnology Lab
Dr. Ralf Heilmann
Tue Jan 12, 02:30-03:30pm, 37-484
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 11-Jan-2010
Limited to 5 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Attend preceding talk prior to tour
The Space Nanotechnology Laboratory holds a suite of unique ultra-high precision tools for rapid nanometer-accurate patterning of large substrates, precise shaping of X-ray mirrors, and the supporting metrology and environmental controls, all located in a Class 100 cleanroom. The tour will include an interference lithography station, a Shack-Hartmann tool, and the SNL's Nanoruler.
Contact: Gregory Prigozhin, 37-561, 253-7246, gyp@space.mit.edu
Sponsor: Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
|
|
