Examples of physics concepts that can all be found in the average kitchen will be explored during the July 24 lecture "Physics at the Breakfast Table" at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Sidney Nagel, a professor of physics at the University of Chicago, will present the free public lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Duane Physics room G1B20 on the CU-Boulder campus.
Nagel will talk about the physics involved in the flow of granular material such as sugar, the long messy tendrils left by honey spooned from one dish to another and the rings left on the breakfast table by spilled coffee after the liquid evaporates.
He plans to show how these are all phenomena that can lead the inquisitive into new realms of physics.
The lecture is part of the third annual Boulder Summer School for Condensed Matter and Material Physics, hosted by CU-Boulder. This year's school is devoted to the basic physics of "soft" materials.
The study of soft materials spans a broad range of disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology and engineering and is not only fundamental to understanding the world around us, but also is critical to developing new technologies, according to Leo Radzihovsky, a CU-Boulder physics professor and co-founder of the school.
Examples of soft materials include liquid crystals, which are at the heart of flat-panel computer display technology, and polymers, which make plastics possible.
In 2000 the National Science Foundation provided a $780,000 grant to fund the school for five years. The National Institute for Standards and Technology in Boulder contributed $50,000 and CU-Boulder provided $80,000.
The school's goal is to enable students to work at the frontiers of science and technology by exposing them to a range of concepts, techniques and applications much broader than any single graduate program or postdoctoral apprenticeship can provide, according to Radzihovsky.
For more information about the July 24 lecture call (303) 492-1515.