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Lecture
#8: Complexity out of Simplicity: Key Concepts in the Science
of Complexity -- Jack Semura
Everywhere we
look we seem to find endless differences and diversity in
the world. Yet we know that the world is built out
of identical particles and four forces that make up the
building blocks and laws from which all this richness emerges.
How does all this diversity arise out of underlying simplicity?
To what extent can we express our understanding as laws
and can we use these laws to understand and predict things?
This lecture will discuss how the science of complexity
gives us new insights into old questions such as these.
About the
speaker: Dr. Jack Semura is a theoretical physicist
who works in statistical mechanics, information physics,
and complexity. He is in the Physics Department, Portland
State University, and is an associate of the Science Integration
Institute
Resources
for further investigation of complexity
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Lecture
#7: We Are Stardust: Synthesis of the Elements Essential for
Life -- Aparna Venkatesan
After a brief
overview of our cosmic origins in the Big Bang, we will
trace the key processes that created the raw materials and
environment from which life could form. We will discuss
how the the lightest elements generated in the very early
universe were gradually processed through successive generations
of stars and supernovae to yield the heavier elements necessary
for complex chemical structures and for life as we know
it.
About the
speaker: Dr. Aparna Venkatesan is currently an NSF Postdoctoral
Fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and received
her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Chicago.
Her research focuses on cosmology and the study of the first
stars in the universe, and she has taught astronomy courses
aimed at the public and at high school through college level
students.
Slides
from Lecture 7 (pdf - 960 KB)
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Lecture
#6: Quantum Physics & Reality -- Todd Duncan
“Quantum
phenomena challenge our primitive understanding of reality;
they force us to re-examine what the concept of existence
means. These things are important, because our belief about
what is must affect how we see our place within it, and
our belief about what we are. In turn, what we believe ultimately
affects what we actually are and, therefore, how we behave.”
--Euan Squires
Quantum physics
appears frequently in popular literature because it raises
some of the deepest questions about the nature of the Universe
and ourselves. But it is also one of the most misrepresented
and misinterpreted areas of modern science. This lecture
will outline the conceptual highlights of quantum physics,
to set up a discussion of what these insights have to say
about the fundamental nature of reality. We'll survey the
basic elements of quantum theory and touch on subjects such
as measurement, entanglement, quantum teleportation, and
quantum computing. Be prepared to stretch your mind, but
the focus is on conceptual understanding. No formal background
in physics is assumed or required.
About the
speaker: Todd
Duncan combines a research background in physics and
astronomy with experience teaching science concepts to non-specialists.
He holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of
Chicago and physics degrees from Cambridge University and
the University of Illinois. Dr. Duncan has taught interdisciplinary
science courses ranging from elementary school to graduate
level, and is currently president of the Science Integration
Institute and adjunct faculty in the Center for Science
Education at Portland State University. He is also author
of An Ordinary World: The Role of Science in Your Search
for Personal Meaning.
Slides
from Lecture 6 (pdf - 820 KB)
Quantum
section of "Key concepts of science" web page
For further
investigation of the concepts of quantum physics:
Squires, Euan.
The Mystery of the Quantum World (Second Edition),
Institute of Physics Publishing, 1994. A good non-technical
overview of the conceptual highlights of quantum physics,
emphasizing the challenge they present to our common-sense
view of reality.
The
Centre for Quantum Computation - Has many nice tutorials
(for all levels of expertise) introducing key concepts of
quantum physics that are important for the emerging field
of quantum computation. Note especially the tutorials on
entanglement and quantum teleportation.
Introduction
to Quantum Cryptography (pdf) - A good overview of the
concepts involved in sending coded messages using the bizarre
quantum aspects of reality.
Baggott, Jim.
The Meaning of Quantum Theory, Oxford, 1992. A
good overview of quantum theory, includes technical details
but from a perspective that focuses on, "what does
this mean?"
Greenstein, George
and Zajonc, Arthur. The Quantum Challenge: Modern Research
on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (1997). For
those with a college-level background in physics, this book
provides an excellent introduction to the key experimental
results from quantum physics that challenge our commonsense
worldview. Bridges the gap between popular books that leave
out the technical details of the experiments, and standard
textbooks with very little discussion of the meaning of
these results for our worldview.
Mermin, N. David,
"Is the moon there when nobody looks? Reality and the quantum
theory," April 1985 Physics Today, p. 38. Great way of understanding
the essence of the EPR paradox and Bell's Theorem.
Feynman, R.P.
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. 1985. Good
for gaining the intuition for understanding the strange
behavior inherent in quantum mechanics. Simplified, but
accurate so that you don't have to unlearn anything when
you add the math.
Science News:
11/20/99, p. 334 (article on quantum entanglement)
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Lecture
#5: Space, Time, & Relativity -- Todd Duncan
Space and time
form the often unnoticed backdrop or fabric within which
everything in our lives takes place. This lecture will provide
an overview of our modern understanding of the nature of
this fabric that encourages a connection to your own perception
of space and time. It will include an introduction to the
basic ideas of Einstein's theory of relativity, beginning
with special relativity (applicable to observers moving
in straight lines at constant speed) and continuing to general
relativity (which extends the theory to include acceleration
and gravity and leads to the notion of curved space-time).
Slides
from Lecture 5 (pdf - 4.5 MB)
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Lecture
#4: Light and Electromagnetism -- Amanda Duncan
Most of us perceive
the world around us primarily through electromagnetic waves,
without knowing what they are. In this talk, we will discuss
waves, fields, visible light, and the rest of the electromagnetic
spectrum, relating scientific concepts to everyday observations
and experiences. Ideas from this talk will help set the
stage for future topics in the "Key Concepts of Physics"
series such as quantum mechanics and relativity.
About the
speaker: Dr. Amanda Duncan is a senior component design
engineer at Intel Corporation. She holds a Ph.D. in electrical
engineering from the University of Illinois. She combines
her interest in technology with an interest in science education
and has taught classes through the Science Integration Institute
and Portland State University.
Slides
from Lecture 4 (pdf - 174 KB)
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Lecture
#3: The Big Picture: An Overview of Modern Cosmology -- Kim
Coble
This lecture
will provide an overview of the key features of our universe
as currently understood by astronomers, addressing such
questions as: Why do we think the universe is expanding?
How can we know the "age of the universe," and why is this
age so uncertain? Was there a "Big Bang?"
The talk will
explain some of the methods used by astronomers to arrive
at their current model of the universe, so that you can
make sense of the claims you hear in the news and evaluate
them for yourself. We'll also address common misconceptions
about the big bang theory, and separate what is well established
from what is still speculative.
About the
speaker: Dr.
Kim Coble is an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Adler Planetarium
and the Dept. of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University
of Chicago. Her research involves the study of the cosmic
microwave background radiation, one of our key sources of
information about the early universe. She also teaches astronomy
courses for the public and at the college level.
Slides
from Lecture 3 (pdf - 306 KB)
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Lecture
#2: The Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Arrow of Time
-- Todd Duncan
C.P. Snow once
remarked that a person who could not describe the Second
Law of Thermodynamics was as culturally illiterate as one
who had never read a work of Shakespeare. Although the Second
Law can be described as the simple observation that heat
flows spontaneously from hot to cold (and not vice versa),
further investigation reveals a deep connection to our everyday
experience with the world: a world in which our ability
to harness heat energy to do useful work is limited, a world
in which we remember the past but not the future and in
which information is forgotten as time passes. This lecture
will introduce the basic principles behind the Second Law
and suggest implications for how we see ourselves in the
world.
Slides
from Lecture 2 (pdf - 3 MB)
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Lecture
#1: Everyday Energy -- Todd Duncan
We’re all
familiar with the term energy in everyday conversation.
We hear about the need to conserve it, and we even deal
with numerical values of energy when we pay our power bill
each month. But how well do we really understand what a
“kilowatt-hour” is, or the way in which everything
we do involves a transfer of energy from one form to another?
This lecture will provide an introduction to energy that
lets you see how the concept developed from direct experience
with the world, how it connects to your own everyday experiences,
and how it can provide an organizing and unifying principle
to help you make sense of the connections and patterns you
observe in the world you are a part of.
Paper
based on Lecture 1
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For further reading:
on energy
in particular...
Feynman, Leighton,
Sands. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, vol. 1. (Chapter
4 - Conservation of Energy).
Hobson, Art.
Physics: Concepts and Connections. (Chapter 6).
von Baeyer, Hans
Christian. Warmth Disperses and Time Passes: The History
of Heat. New York: Random House, 1998. (Chapters 1-4).
for the series
in general...
Hobson, Art.
Physics: Concepts and Connections. Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
Jones, Roger
S. Physics for the Rest of Us: Ten Basic Ideas of Twentieth-Century
Physics That Everyone Should Know...and How They Shaped
Our Culture and Consciousness. Chicago: Contemporary
Books, 1992.
Leggett, A.J.
The Problems of Physics. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1987.
Lightman, Alan.
Great Ideas in Physics. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992.
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