Saturday Physics Series

Abstract: The rare earth elements, hidden at the bottom of the periodic table and long neglected, have risen to prominence at the end of the 20th century. Their unique electronic configuration form the basis for a variety of lasers, photonic applications, strong and exotic magnetism, defining many modern technologies. I will tell a story connecting from the basic science of the geology of Colorado and rare earth and other rare element mineralogy, to our technological and societal dependence and questions of strategic element security. 

Abstract: Imagine if the act of looking at an object caused it to move – or imagine you had a pair of dice that always rolled doubles, but of different numbers each roll. These counterintuitive phenomena are commonplace in the realm of quantum mechanics, which describes systems that are generally very small, very cold, and/or very isolated from the rest of the world.

Abstract: Imagine a world where communication doesn't depend on words, but on flashes of light, scents, and movement. In the extraordinary world of insects, this is a daily reality. This talk will take you on a journey into the secret lives of fireflies and bees, exploring how they convey information through visual and chemical signals. Drawing on concepts from physics, mathematics, and computer science, we will uncover the universal rules that insects obey to make their communication efficient and effective.

Abstract: Imagine a world where communication doesn't depend on words, but on flashes of light, scents, and movement. In the extraordinary world of insects, this is a daily reality. This talk will take you on a journey into the secret lives of fireflies and bees, exploring how they convey information through visual and chemical signals. Drawing on concepts from physics, mathematics, and computer science, we will uncover the universal rules that insects obey to make their communication efficient and effective.

Abstract: It is likely both intuitive and familiar that, as you walk further from a campfire, you feel less of its heat. And yet the same is not true for the great fireball in the sky: our sun. In fact, the Sun’s corona is millions of kelvin hotter than its photosphere, despite being much further away from the center of the star. From 2020 through 2021 a team of over a thousand undergraduate students at CU Boulder painstakingly analyzed the X-ray emissions of hundreds of individual solar flares in search of evidence to help resolve this mystery.

Lemonade and cookies will be served after the lecture concludes

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Abstract: On July 26, 2002, FedEx flight 1478 crashed on landing at the Tallahassee Regional airport. The crew of three survived, but were fired by FedEx. The pilots contested their firing and I was hired to investigate. I was able to show experimentally that the runway lighting very likely failed due to condensation on the projection system. Yet the pilots' lawyers decided that my testimony would not help their clients, and my results were not presented. I will present the physics and sociology of this curious case.