For the 2021 Virtual Picnic Day on Saturday April 17th, we will be presenting four short physics presentations, each followed by questions and answers.

• 2:00 PM: “Infinities”, Prof. Richard Scalettar
  • “Infinity” is truly a strange object, behaving in ways that no sensible number would.  It is therefore very surprising that it makes an
    appearance in very real ways in various fundamental experiments and theories in physics.
• 2:30 PM: “Seeing Atoms and Molecules on Surfaces”, Prof. Shirley Chiang
  • The scanning tunneling microscope allows us to “see” individual atoms and molecules on conducting surfaces. The operation of the microscope, which is based on the principle of quantum mechanical tunneling, will be explained. Atomic resolution images will be shown of individual atoms on both metallic and semiconductor surfaces, as well as images of individual molecules, such as benzene, on metal surfaces.
• 3:00 PM: “The Higgs Boson: A Tale of Three Universes”, Prof. Markus Luty
  • The Higgs boson, an elementary particle discovered in 2012, is a key ingredient in determining the physical laws of nature. This talk will explain the role of the Higgs boson, and how it allows us to experimentally test three different paradigms for the laws of nature at the most fundamental level.
• 3:30 PM: “Accelerators and Society”, Prof. Eric Prebys
  • Particle accelerators are versatile tools, which not only facilitate a broad range of scientific research, but also have countless applications in other areas, including medicine, industrial processing, and even art.  This talk will give a brief history of the development of accelerators, followed by an overview of their many uses.

Click here for Zoom link:

• Meeting ID: 982 5690 5182
• Passcode: physics

A recording of the session will be posted afterwards.