Solar-power technology, liquid nitrogen and Harry Potter are all part of a two-day open house today and tomorrow at Ohio University to celebrate physics.
The Physics and Astronomy Department at OU are hosting lectures, lab tours and physics shows across campus to commemorate the World Year of Physics. The holiday celebrates the centennial of Albert Einstein's 1905 papers, which among other topics introduced the theory of relativity.
We're trying to show the general public what we do
why it is interesting and why it is fun said David Drabold, professor of physics and recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Professor Award.
Today's events begin at 1 p.m., and Saturday events begin at 9:30 a.m., both of which run all day and are free and open to the public.
The open houses will include demonstrations that even the scientifically disinclined can enjoy and find interesting, Drabold said, such as a cloud chamber and laboratory where participants can move individual atoms.
(There will be) traditional academic posters that we have tried hard to make comprehensible and interesting that describe the kind of work we do
he said.
A panel at 3 p.m. today in Clippinger 259 will conduct a question and answer session to address concerns about undergraduate research and how it is valuable to the university, said David Ingram, a physics professor.
A highlight of the event is the public lecture at 6 p.m. tonight in Walter 145 with Al Compaan, a physicist at the University of Toledo who works with solar cells. The lecture will discuss solar electricity, clean power and Compaan's experience with a zero-energy home, Drabold said.
Before and after the lecture, there will be an astronomy viewing of Mars in front of Walter Hall. Following the viewing, physics and astronomy professors will attend tonight's football contest against Toledo, where a video on physics will be shown at half-time on the Jumbotron.
We'd like people to know that OU is a center of excellence for all kinds of things
(including) athletics and academics
said Joseph Shields, department chair of physics and astronomy.
Saturday's events include the annual High School Physics Contest, with a scholarship to study physics at OU as the grand prize. The open house will conclude with a discussion of physics and magic followed by a showing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
A complete list of open house events can be found at www.phy.ohiou.edu.
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Maria Gallucci
