Description

Class Summary

Over the past century, astrophysicists and cosmologists have studied the universe’s structure at the largest scales, while condensed matter and particle physicists studied at atomic and subatomic levels. At these very small scales, physicists have discovered a wild world of chance and probability in the realm of quantum mechanics, where even the definition of reality requires careful thought. What is the uncertainty principle? How is light both a particle and a wave? How can an electron be in two places at once? What’s the deal with Schrödinger’s Cat? Does God, despite Einstein’s objection, indeed play dice with the universe? We’ll explore the ideas that underpin the sciences of atomic, nuclear, and solid-state physics that make possible computers and electronic devices.

About the Instructor

Dr. Jeremy Carlo is an Associate Professor of Physics at Villanova University.  He completed his undergraduate degrees in physics and mathematics at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and his PhD in physics at Columbia University.  His research involves “quantum materials,” in which quantum mechanical interactions determine their magnetic and electronic behavior.  He is also interested in amateur astronomy, ham radio, and lifting weights, occupying his free time as he ponders the condition of Schrodinger’s cat.