Saturday Morning Physics at Texas A&M University

Registration Now open for the Spring 2012 Program

Spring 2012 Program

Learn about the newest developments in Modern Physics: Proton Spin and Spintronics, Nanophysics, the Cosmos and its Dark Matter and Energy, and more!

An event series for Texas High-School Students to discover and understand the laws that rule the physical proceeses aorund us!

Physics is a fundamental science to discover the laws of nature, unraveling the world for exploration and technology.

For the seventh year running, you are cordially invited to experience the fun of delving into the secrets of modern physics, learning about the latest and greatest in a variety of forefront research and its applications, such as spintronics, nanophysics and the enormous amounts of dark matter and energy in the Universe.

Learn about:

     - The spin of elementary particles and how it can open new frontiers of technology
     - The fascinating physics and applications at the Nanoscale
     - The first steps on the ladder into the Cosmos
     - Dark Energy and dating of our Universe
     - Dark Matter at the largest and smallest scales

Saturday Morning Physics is a National Science Foundation-funded event series designed to indulge Texas high school students in the fascinating subatomic world of modern physics.

No prerequisites necessary! (except for your curiosity...)

Teacher participation encouraged!

Each Saturday's program will consist of seminars, discussion, quizzes, experiments and tours of campus facilities.

The format for each Saturday's program will be as follows:

09:15-09:30 Registration and Welcome
09:30-10:30 Seminar
10:30-11:00 Refreshments
11:00-12:00 Quizzes, Prizes and Hands-on Experiments and Tours Facilities

Abstracts will be added when available. Click title links for review materials where available.
January 28th: "Spintronics: From Basic Science to Technology Revolution", Professor Jairo Sinova
		The ability to store movies, mp3s, and enormous quantities of electronic data in small devices arises from a not very well known basis research brunch which has had an enormous impact on peoples lives. This is Spintronics, a field where one exploits the properties of Einstein's special relativity at the nanoscale and the raise of emergent phenomena in which a collective behaves very differently than its components. It couples magnetism and currents and allows us to sit, relax, and enjoy the movies on our iPad on the go. I will cover the ideas behind this fascinating science and where it may lead us next.
February 4th: "What makes the Proton Spin? " , Professor Carl Gagliardi

February 11th: "New Magnetic States on Nanoscale Map" , Professor Igor Roshchin
		For most people, "magnetism" is associated with a compass needle and refrigerator magnets. Many people do not realize that magnets are used extensively in many devices that surround us: cars, motors, and computers. But what happens when the magnets get very small, hundreds and thousands times smaller than a human hair? -- That's the nanometer scale, at which magnets start behaving very differently. I will present very unusual magnetic properties of materials at nanoscale that have been discovered recently. We will discuss how scientists control these properties and design new nanostructured materials that can be used for a broad variety of applications: from high-density magnetic memory to cancer treatment.
February 25th: "Nanostructures: a LEGO Box for Physicists", Professor Alexey Belyanin
		Modern technologies enable physicists and engineers to fabricate tiny structures, in which electrons are confined to a nanometer scale. Such nanostructures are like artificial atoms, but with very unusual properties that can be manipulated on demand. Using these artificial atoms as building blocks, one can build nanoscale transistors, lasers, and other nanodevices that increase the computer power, enable faster internet, and can even be used to diagnose and cure diseases.
March 3rd: "The first 3 Rungs of the Cosmological Distance Ladder", Professor Kevin Krisciunas
		I will show how it is possible to measure your position on the Earth with simple non-technical equipment. That allows one to measure the circumference of the Earth, and hence its radius. That is the first step in determining distances to the Moon and Sun (which I show next). And that is the start of determining distances throughout the whole universe.
March 24th: "The Age of the Universe and Dark Energy" , Professor Lucas Macri
		An accurate and precise measurement of the age of the Universe is very important for understanding its ultimate fate, which is dictated by the still unknown nature of dark energy. In this talk I will explain how we determine the age of the Universe by measuring distances to nearby galaxies using Cepheid variables, which are then used to calibrate the luminosity of white dwarf supernovae. I will also review the evidence for the existence of dark energy based on supernovae that took place when the Universe was much younger, as well as from galaxy surveys and the cosmic background radiation.

March 31st: "What's the Matter? Dark Matter!", Professor Teruki Kamon
		Various astronomical measurements reveal a very mysterious form in the universe, called dark matter. The word "dark" is because we cannot see it by any telescopes. But its existence can be inferred from gravitational effects. It is known that 23% of the universe is made of the dark matter. Modern theories of particle physics attempt to describe the universe and predict a new particle for the dark matter. The dark matter particles have not yet been detected experimentally. The world's most powerful proton accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), will soon provide millions of millions of proton-proton (pp) collisions. So then, such dark matter particles could be created in the collisions. We will relate phenomena at a gigantic scale in the universe to the pp collisions at a very small scale (much smaller than a hydrogen atom) and explain why we want to probe the dark matter world. Then we describe how possibly one can discover the dark matter using the LHC data. This will be the beginning of a long journey to understand the interconnection between particle physics and cosmology.

To be awarded a final "diploma" certificate, you will need to complete at least 5 out of 7 events. In addition, there is a common thread through the event sequence, so you will benefit most from regular attendance.

Prizes will be given out each event (except the first) based on the quizzes of the previous event.

Registration is free and should be preferentially completed online. On-site registration will be possible until 9:20 AM on the day of each event. There will be open attendance allowed at each session.

If you register before Jan. 15, 2012, you are guaranteed to receive the SMP-12 equipment kit including backpack and "discovery folder".

On-Line Registration

Each program will be held at the Physics Department in the Hawking Auditorium of the George P. Mitchell Physics Building on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, TX 77843. Detailed directions and parking information will be available soon.

If you have any questions about the Saturday Morning Physics program please contact Dr. Ralf Rapp (rapp@comp.tamu.edu) or Dr. Rainer Fries (rjfries@comp.tamu.edu).

Fermilab: http://www-ppd.fnal.gov/smp-w/
Florida State University: http://www.physics.fsu.edu/smp/default.htm
University of Michigan: http://www.physics.lsa.umich.edu/nea/smp/
Darmstadt University (Germany): http://www.satmorphy.de

Thanks to:

Ingrid Anderson, Kendra Beasley, Jerry Deason, Shana Hutchins, Bruce Hyman, Sharon Jeske,
Santos Ramirez, Leslie Spiekes, the Cyclotron Institute, and the
Department of Physics at Texas A&M University for their valuable support