This event has passed. It took place on Tuesday, June 1, 2021.
Monthly Meeting
Public
The High School Mathematics and Physics Behind Dark Matter
Presenter: Mark Christensen
Location: Streamed online.
Dark Matter is a common topic of discussion in popular lectures and TV programs. But it isn’t so new as we will see in this lecture, which examines one of the earliest manifestations of the effects attributed to Dark Matter. Doing so only requires basic high school physics and mathematics. We’ll also examine other ways in which the Dark Matter problem arises and will finish with a discussion of the many failed attempts to measure “Dark Matter” as if it really were matter at all, rather than a manifestation of deeper problems in our understanding of how the universe works on the largest scales.
Mark has been active in astronomy, science, and mathematics since the 1960s, when he first ground an 8 inch f/5.5 mirror at the Detroit Astronomical Society.
He has a PhD in Mathematics in the area of probability theory and still uses that 8 inch mirror, refigured at least twice and recoated many times.
This event is open to the public and free of charge.