NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS TO DELIVER SPECIAL LECTURE TO WORLD FINALS PARTICIPANTS

 

      As if World Finals were not exciting enough, this year's participants are in for a very special -- and stimulating -- discussion about physics and discovery. University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) is the site and professors Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman are the featured guests. The professors were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2001 "for the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases of alkali atoms, and for early fundamental studies of the properties of the condensates."

 

            What's that mean, you ask. The professors will provide an explanation that's fun and easy to understand. In a nutshell, Bose-Einstein condensate is a new form of matter produced by cooling atoms to 0.1 millionth of a degree above zero. According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Physics, which awarded the prize, "When a gas consisting of uncoordinated atoms turns into a Bose-Einstein condensate, it is like when the various instruments of an orchestra . . . after warming up individually, all join in the same tone." The new 'control' of matter is going to bring revolutionary applications in such fields as precision measurement and nanotechnology.

 

            World Finals is all about challenge and being inspired by others. What better inspiration than to hear professors Wieman and Cornell speak of their discovery? The session is scheduled for Thursday, May 23, 1:00-2:30 p.m., in the Benson Earth Sciences building, Room 180.