The Aesthetics of Constructing and Deconstructing Materials and Magnets

Speaker: Greg Boebinger

When: September 22, 2015 (Tue), 03:30PM to 04:30PM (add to my calendar)
Location: SCI 109
View the poster for this event.

This event is part of the Physics Department Colloquia Series.

The MagLab generates magnetic fields exceeding two million times the Earth’s magnetic field using exotic materials and home-developed magnet designs. This talk seeks to answer the question “Why would anyone want to do such a thing”? We start by surveying the aesthetics and science of materials, from the flaking of obsidian to the fabrication of nano-composites necessary for the construction of the MagLab’s world-record magnets. The use of these magnets will then be illustrated by a few research highlights from the MagLab’s international user community on MATERIALS: tweaking macroscopic quantum phenomena in two-dimensional square lattices of copper and oxygen; ENERGY: analyzing nature’s most complex fluid by measuring the mass of 100,000 different molecules in a single drop of oil; and LIFE: using sodium and quantum dots to revolutionize magnetic resonance imaging. During the talk, we anticipate that jokes will be told.