The great American physicist Richard Feynman聮s genius for simplifying quantum mechanics through a set of simple pictures will come to life during a July 24 lecture at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Steven Girvin, distinguished physics professor at Indiana University at Bloomington and a co-founder and participating faculty member of a summer physics institute at CU-Boulder, will present the lecture "Mr. Feynman聮s Quantum Mechanics: A Field Guide for Curious Characters" at 7:30 p.m. in Duane Physics room G1B20 on the CU-Boulder campus.
The talk is free and intended for non-scientists. Feynman聮s somewhat crazy sounding -- but correct -- ideas will be illustrated without equations using simple examples and demonstrations.
"By the end of this talk, people will understand how mirages work, what a lens does, and will be able to impress their friends by dropping the phrase 聭quantum interference聮 in casual conversation," said CU-Boulder physics Professor Leo Radzihovsky, also a co-founder of the Summer Physics Institute.
Girvin intends to wow the audience with several demonstrations, simple enough to repeat at home or in a classroom, all in the name of physics.
"The whole point of this is to reach people who don聮t know much about physics, but are curious about how the physical world around us works," Radzihovsky said. "Feynman was known for his ability to explain physics in simple terms, and to make it fun. That聮s what this lecture is about."
Feynman, perhaps best remembered as the man who helped solve the mystery of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, was also widely known for his teaching methods and his unique talents as a bongo player and safecracker.
Feynman developed a new type of quantum theory that describes how photons interact with electrons and protons. He invented a series of diagrams that make it possible to readily visualize the strange processes that occur in the quantum world of atoms and subatomic particles.
In 1965 Feynman, Julian S. Schwinger of Harvard University and Shinichiro Tomonaga of Japan were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their work in developing an improved theory of quantum electrodynamics.
But Richard Feynman was no ordinary genius. His bestselling autobiography "Surely You聮re Joking, Mr. Feynman!" described his work on the atomic bomb at Los Alamos and his habit of "cracking" office safes while there.
Girvin intends to bring some of that genius to life in his lecture at CU-Boulder.
The public lecture is part of the Boulder Summer School for Condensed and Materials Physics, held annually during the month of July at CU-Boulder. Professors Girvin and Radzihovsky, along with Professor Andrew Millis at Rutgers University and Professor Matthew Fisher at the University of California at Santa Barbara, co-founded the institute for talented graduate students pursuing studies in condensed matter and materials physics. The school is supported by the National Science Foundation, CU-Boulder, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, Lucent and IBM.
Girvin聮s research is on the quantum properties of electrons in magnets, superconductors and semiconductors.
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