Saturday Physics Series

The Saturday Physics Series consists of five to seven scheduled talks oriented toward adults and high school students. Lectures occur on specific Saturdays afternoons throughout the school year, typically in Duane G1B30. Unless otherwise noted, lectures begin at 2:30 p.m., and usually last about one hour. Material is aimed at the level of high school juniors and seniors. The series is free, open to the public, and no reservations are required. Simply show up and enjoy the show! 

To join our mailing list, please contact Veronica Lingo.

Saturday Physics Lecture Series YouTube Channel 

Spring 2025

**Postponed** Saturday January 25 — "The Strongest Glue in the Universe"

  • Presented by: Professor Ed Kinney
  • 2:30 p.m.
  • Abstract: The tiny particles that comprise almost all the mass in our bodies as well as the stars and planets are held together by a force so strong that it is nearly impossible to break away from it. It’s so strong that if you try to break the glue bond, you’ll create anti-matter particles!
    Many people are surprised to learn that our mass is not just the sum of the mass of the particles we’re made up of but also the energy held in these glue forces. It is challenging to study these glue forces in the laboratory and observe their effects on the tiny particles known as quarks that the glue forces act on. In this talk we’ll learn about the basics of the glue force and how it holds matter and anti-matter together insides us and how physicists attempt to understand and study it.
     

Saturday February 22 — "The Big Bang: The Universe, Past, Present and Future"

  • Presented by: Professor Paul Beale
  • 2:30 p.m.
  • Abstract: Science is a human endeavor. The discovery that the Universe began abruptly 13.8 billion years ago is one of the great scientific stories of the last century. We will explore the history and empirical evidence of the Big Bang, the scientific framework that allows us to infer with considerable certainty what happened in the first moments of the Universe, the scientists that solved the puzzle of how that led to our existence, and what the future holds.

Saturday March 22 — "Probing the Origins of the Universe using Superconductivity"

  • Presented by: Dr. Jason Austermann, NIST
  • 2:30 p.m.

  • Abstract: Cosmology – the study of the Universe in which we live – inevitably goes back further than recorded human history.  Questions of the origin and nature of our world and Universe seem fundamentally intertwined with our inquisitive nature.  While some questions may forever remain unanswerable or philosophical in nature, science is continually advancing our understanding of the ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘when’ of our Universe.  Not only are we learning the content, history, and physics of our Universe but, ultimately, its fate.  We routinely use the Universe itself as the largest and most powerful conceivable laboratory with which to study fundamental physics at energies and scales unattainable by even the largest particle colliders humans could ever dream to build.

    At the heart of many of the experiments that are making these discoveries are technologies developed and built right here in Boulder, Colorado. Superconducting technologies developed by researchers at NIST-Boulder and CU-Boulder are currently enabling the most sensitive measurements of the Universe during its infancy, many billions of years ago. This includes measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), ancient light from the early universe and a remnant of the Big Bang. In this talk, I’ll present a brief history of the study of Cosmology, describe the current state of the art of our understanding of our Universe, and review some of the Boulder-based superconducting technologies that are making it possible. Along the way, I’ll provide a glimpse into aspects of the life and career path for an experimental physicist and astronomer.  Finally, I’ll be happy to attempt to answer and discuss any questions and curiosities you may have.

Saturday April 12 — "What Makes a Good Experiment"

  • Presented by: Professor Allan Franklin
  • 2:30 p.m.
  • Abstract: Scientists need no convincing that experimental or observational evidence plays an essential role in science. In this talk I will examine the idea of “good experiments,” those that provide such evidence. Experiments may be good is several ways: 1) methodological-good reasons provided for belief in the results, 2) conceptual—theory-confirmation, refutation, call for new theory, 3) technical—more accurate or precise measurement than had been done previously, 4) pedagogical—useful for teaching a subject. I will illustrate this with three examples from the history of physics: 1) Mendel’s experiments on plant hybridization, 2) the experiment that demonstrated parity non-conservation, the violation of space-reflection symmetry or left-right symmetry, by C.S. Wu and collaborators, and 3) the experiment of Ellis and Wooster that showed that the energy spectrum of electrons emitted in beta decay was continuous, and that led to Pauli’s suggestion of the neutrino.

Fall 2024

Saturday September 28 — "The Negative Triangularity Tokamak: Power Handling in a Fusion Power Plant"

  • Presented by: Dr. Oak Nelson, Columbia University
  • 2:30 p.m.
  • Abstract: The pursuit of commercial fusion energy, which could provide a clean and effectively limitless power source for humanity, is often heralded as one of the most important and difficult scientific endeavors of our time. One of the leading approaches for fusion, the tokamak, uses magnetic fields to confine a hot and dense plasma inside a vacuum vessel, akin to holding a star in a magnetic bottle. Just like you might imagine, however, it is difficult to hold a star in place without creating tremendous heat fluxes that would melt the machine walls. Fortunately, fusion scientists have discovered a new way to control the shape of the plasma that may provide a robust solution to the power-handling problem in tokamaks. This special regime, called "negative triangularity," establishes a rapid path forward towards a commercial fusion energy system.

Saturday October 19 — "Metal Halide Photovoltaics for the Future"

  • Presented by: Professor Joe Berry, NREL, University of Colorado Boulder
  • 2:30 p.m.
  • Abstract: This talk will consider photovoltaic (PV) technologies and their role in the energy transition. To do this the basics of semiconductor materials, basic device physics of PVs and current materials used in existing deployed PV will be discussed along with their pros and cons.  With this background new material poised to supercharge PV efficiency and the green energy transition will be discussed. Specifically metal halide perovskite (MHP)  PV technologies potential  and impact as photovoltaic deployment reaches the terawatt scale will be discussed.  The requirements for significantly increasing PV deployment beyond current rates and what the implications are for technologies attempting to meet this challenge will be addressed.  In particular how issues of CO2 impacts and sustainability inform near and longer term research development and deployment goals for MHP enabled PV will be discussed.

Saturday November 23 — "The Physics of Vision and Perception"

  • Presented by: Professor Bethany Wilcox
  • 2:30 p.m.
  • Abstract: Ever wondered how we perceive the world around us? How do our eyes detect light and how does our brain interpret what our eyes see? In this discussion, we will investigate how human vision and perception works, as well as how it can be manipulated through visual illusions. We will also explore how human vision differs from the vision of other animals such as dogs, birds, and insects.

Saturday December 7 — "Rare earth and other critical elements - their physics, resources, and geopolitics"

  • Presented by: Professor Markus Raschke, University of Colorado Boulder
  • 2:30 p.m.
  • 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. 

Getting to Campus

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For more information please contact Veronica Lingo.