For the 2021 UC Davis Virtual Picnic Day, to be held Saturday, April 17th, the Physics Department will present the following talks:

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 very versatile tools, which facilitate a broad range of scientific research, but they also have almost countless applications in medicine, industry, and even art.  This talk will give a brief history of accelerators, followed by an overview of their numerous uses.

Zoom link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/98256905182?pwd=elRQYWFPMEgrSmV5TmNRRUd1MHl2UT09
Meeting ID: 982 5690 5182
Passcode:   physics
 

For questions, contact Eric Prebys (eprebys@ucdavis.edu)