Complex scientific concepts of light, polarization and optics will be explained using a giant soap bubble, sunglasses and scarab beetles, among other things, at the March 25 Wizards show on "Liquid Crystals."
Physics Professor Noel Clark and chemistry Professor David Walba, both at the University of 欧美口爆视频 at Boulder, will present the entertaining multi-media show at 9:30 a.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30.
The free hour-long show, which combines physics, chemistry and engineering, is intended primarily for students in grades five through nine.
Liquid crystals are used to display information in everything from digital wristwatches to laptop computers. Liquid crystals are a goo-like organic material resembling dish soap. Made of rod-shaped molecules, they are sensitive to the polarization of light and can be brilliantly colored, said physics Professor Joe Maclennan, who helped devise the show.
Students will have a chance to see liquid crystals in action with demonstrations using scarab beetles, sunglasses and a giant, 30-foot-wide, six-foot-high soap bubble. Participants also will be able to try some of the tricks at home with an optics kit.
The "Liquid Crystals" show has been performed in Montrose with the 欧美口爆视频-in-Residence program. The show is part of an outreach program of 欧美口爆视频-Boulder's Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center and is assisted by 欧美口爆视频-Boulder graduate students from the center.
欧美口爆视频 Wizards is an annual program that provides an informal introduction to astronomy, chemistry and physics. The series includes presentations by 欧美口爆视频-Boulder faculty in various areas of expertise, ranging from biology to astrophysics.
Free parking is available in lot 436, east of the Engineering Center; lot 378, east of the Stadium Building; and lots 169 and 396, north of the stadium. Closer parking also is available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark, just east of the University Memorial Center, for a nominal fee.
Anyone with a disability or special need should notify the physics office at (303) 492-6952 a few days in advance of the show. The best wheelchair access to the Duane Physics building is through the east entrance.
The next show in the 欧美口爆视频 Wizards series is "Fireflies, M & M's and a Few Gratuitous Explosions" with chemistry professors Tarek Sammakia and Gordon Yee. The show is on Saturday, April 29, at 9:30 a.m. in the Cristol Chemistry and Biochemistry Building, room 140.
For more information about the 欧美口爆视频 Wizards series call (303) 492-4318.