The next CU Wizards program will help students catch up on the physics of "Speed," on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 9:30 a.m. in the Duane Physics building, room G1B30, on the CU-Boulder campus.
Eric Cornell, CU-Boulder physics professor and Fellow of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, will measure "lots of different kinds of speeds" at the free, hour-long presentation, intended primarily for students in grades 5 through 9.
The show will include demonstrations that involve audience participation to explain the speed of light, sound and physical objects. Participants will have the chance to see some of the world's slowest animals, to measure the speed of a thrown baseball and to measure the speed of sound through a 500-foot-long plastic tube.
Cornell called the CU Wizards audience a "discriminating audience." "I give lots of lectures to college professors, college students and scientists, but these are usually the toughest audiences," Cornell said.
CU Wizards is an annual program that provides an informal introduction to astronomy, chemistry and physics. The series includes presentations by
CU-Boulder faculty in various areas of expertise, ranging from biology to astrophysics.
Free parking is available in lot 436, east of the Engineering Center; lot 378, east of the Stadium Building; and lots 169 and 396, north of the stadium. Closer parking also is available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark, just east of the University Memorial Center, for a nominal fee.
Anyone with a disability or special need should notify the physics office at (303) 492-6952 a few days in advance of the show. The best wheelchair access to the Duane Physics building is through the east entrance.
The next show in the CU Wizards series is "Liquid Crystals" with Dave Walba, chemistry professor, and Noel Clark and Joe Maclennan, physics professors. "Cystals" will be on Saturday, March 25, at 9:30 a.m. in the Duane Physics building, room G1B30.
For more information about the CU Wizards series call (303) 492-4318.