Physics Commons^™

Extreme Physics Where Small And Big Things Meet, Young-Kee Kim

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

The profound discovery of Einstein a century ago, that particles can both be made from energy and disappear back into energy, inspires the experiments that provide our knowledge of the smallest building blocks of matter and the interactions between them. Experiments, done at enormous accelerators, have led to a consistent theory of the origins of our world up to a certain point. However, at an energy scale not far above what we can attain at existing accelerators, this picture is predicted to break down. Moreover, the theory of the very small is intimately connected to cosmology -- the ultimate cause …

Symmetry And The Origin Of Mass, Chris Hill

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

Fermilab High Energy Frontier experiments at the FermilabTevatron, and the LHC at CERN, will soon provide clues as to the mechanisms involved in the origin of the phenomenon of mass in nature. This is intimately tied to the fundamental symmetry principles that define modern physics, and may usher in a plethora of new elementary particles, new symmetries, and new dynamics.

How To Hunt A Wild Neutrino, Janet Conrad

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

Of all of the particles which make up matter, the neutrino is the most mysterious. Remnants of the big bang, neutrinos are everywhere -- up in your attic, out in the cornfields, deep in the farthest galaxies. Catching them has always been a problem. But recently we have discovered one of their tricks. They can change their spots -- from one type into another! This talk will discuss neutrinos, how to catch them, and in the context of the research at Fermilab.

The Quantum And The Cosmos, Edward (Rocky) W. Kolb, Joseph D. Lykken

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

Fermilab physicists, Dr. Rocky Kolb and Dr. Joe Lykken team up to explain the connection of the physics of the very small to the physics of the cosmos and their discovery of a fundamental contradiction regarding how these mysteries have led to the development of new ideas: string theory, inflation, extra dimensions and Wimpzillas, as well as Higgs boson, and other mysteries that cosmologists care about, like dark energy.

Dr. Rocky Kolb is the founding head of the NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Group at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is also a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at The University of Chicago. …