A Few Physics Wonders
A popular talk by Sir Michael Berry
Friday, October 2
3–4 p.m.
Beckman Hall, Room 104
This talk is for anyone interested in science and who finds the work of great physicists like Einstein or Hawking inspirational.
Sir Michael Berry, one of the world's most renowned scientists, will talk about some of the beautiful things that physicists actually do. He will use non-technical language with a multi-media experience that will be accessible to everyone.
Sometimes nature and technology illustrate the abstract ideas of physics in beautiful ways. Sir Michael will discuss a few selected ‘wonders’ – from many ‘wonders’ – including the great moon-driven river wave, light interference magnified in rainbows, and music democratized by quantum physics.
Sir Michael will then be accompanied by Chapman's Professor Aharonov and Chancellor Daniele Struppa for an accessible, open dialogue with the audience.
President Obama awarded Yakir Aharonov the nation’s highest science award – The National Medal of Science in 2010 (?) - for: “his work in quantum physics which ranges from the Aharonov-Bohm effect, to the notion of weak measurement, making him one of the most influential figures in modern physics.”
Following the popular talk above, Sir Michael Berry will host a series of additional talks during his time at Chapman. Again, all are free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served. Here is the schedule and titles of the talks:
“Superoscillations I: Basics, Shifted Fourier Transforms”
Friday, October 2, 5-6 p.m.
Argyros Forum, Room 212
“Superoscillations II: Optical Vorticulture”
Monday, October 5, 5-6 p.m.
Argyros Forum, Room 212
“Superoscillations III: Analytic Aspects”
Tuesday, October 6, 5-6 p.m.
Argyros Forum, Room 212
“Superoscillations IV: Statistics, Neutrinos, Beam Shifts”
Wednesday, October 7, 5-6 p.m.
Argyros Forum, Room 212
“Superoscillations V: Persistence and Superresolution”
Thursday, October 8, 4-5 p.m.
Argyros Forum, Room 212
Abstract: We are taught that if waves with a variety of wavelengths are superposed, then we cannot create structures whose details are smaller than the shortest wavelength in the original superposition. But this is not correct. That is, even if the smallest wave has a wavelength of 1m, we can create arbitrarily detailed structures, say, with feature sizes of 1mm. This is called a superoscillation with applications in signal processing and imaging.
Sir Michael Berry will host an additional talk that is not a part of the superoscillation series above:
“Divergent Series: From Thomas Bayes’s Bewilderment to Today’s Resurgence Via the Rainbow”
Thursday, October 8, noon-1 p.m.
Argyros Forum, Room 212
Abstract: Following the discovery by Bayes in 1747 that Stirling’s series for the factorial is divergent, the study of asymptotic series has today reached the stage of enabling summation of the divergent tails of many series with an accuracy far beyond that of the smallest term. Several of these advances sprang from developments of Airy’s theory of waves near optical caustics such as the rainbow. Key understandings by Euler, Stokes, Dingle and Écalle unify the different series corresponding to different parameter domains, culminating in the concept of resurgence: quantifying the way in which the low orders of such series reappear in the high orders.
The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, himself a Nobel Laureate in Physics, has said:
“The Institute for Quantum Studies will be a place of inspiration, insight, and imagination. The fields it will further are important to the strength of the nation. But even more critical is the commitment the Institute has made to deepen our nation’s appreciation for the importance of science, and to convey the mystery and wonder of the universe to our citizens.”
Sir Michael is endeared throughout the world for sharing his delight in finding the arcane in the mundane. We are greatly honored by the time he spends at Chapman.