The physics behind time travel and antimatter and the impact light and radio waves have had on the modern world will be discussed in February during two separate presentations at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The CU Wizards show "Waves That Changed the World" will take place Saturday, Feb. 21, at 9:30 a.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30. At 2 p.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30, the CU-Boulder physics department will present "Time Traveling With Physics" as part of its Saturday Physics Series. Both shows are free and open to the public.
CU Wizards is aimed at students in grades five through nine, while the Saturday Physics Series targets high school students, teachers and adults.
CU-Boulder professors Dana Anderson and Zoya Popovic will present the CU Wizards show "Waves That Changed the World." During the show the audience will learn about the tremendous impact light and radio waves have made on the modern world, such as delivering music and people's voices from one place to another. They also will learn that light and radio waves are the same kind of electromagnetic wave and that they bounce, go through some materials but not others and can carry messages and deliver power.
During the Saturday Physics Series show, CU-Boulder Professor Patricia Rankin will discuss the concepts of relativistic time dilation, length contraction, the reversibility of time, and speculate on why the universe contains little antimatter. Rankin will discuss the real physics behind these concepts, which are often the subjects of sci-fi fantasy. An experimentalist who works in the field of high-energy or particle physics, Rankin also will talk about how she became interested in physics.
For more information about CU Wizards call (303) 492-6952 or visit . For more information about the Saturday Physics Series call (303) 492-4318.