Saturday Morning Physics generates a big bang

Regulars are said to arrive 45 minutes to an hour early—they have specific places they like to sit. Some drive from four hours away and when the crowd in Room 170 Dennison swells to capacity of 275 people, "late" attendees move to an overflow room, where an additional 150 people can watch on closed-circuit television.

Richard Vallery, a research fellow in the Department of Physics, delivers his Saturday Morning Physics lecture, "When antimatter and matter collide, E=mc2 prevails," last fall. (Photo courtesy Jens Zorn)

Events that foster interconnectivity between the community and the University are common on campus. But this one is occurring at 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday.

Members of the community anxiously await the next lecture in the Saturday Morning Physics (SMP) series, sponsored by the Department of Physics and supported, in part, by donations from the public.

The lectures feature laboratory demonstrations and multimedia techniques to help make them interesting and easy for the audience to understand. "There are things that go 'bang' and leap in the air," says Jens Zorn, physics professor and SMP co-faculty coordinator. "You try to avoid having the lecturers just go on flapping their jaw."

The lectures began in 1995 to educate the public about the latest developments in physics research. SMP talks, given primarily by U-M postdoctoral researchers and faculty members, offer current scientific research to the public in an engaging, yet technically accurate way, according to Carol Rabuck, physics editor and SMP administrator.

SMP commenced Jan. 21 with a talk by Philip Gingerich of the Museum of Paleontology, entitled "Evolution: The Fossil Record and the Origin of Whales." Many of the upcoming lectures will focus on evolution—the topic of the LSA theme semester. A full schedule of the lectures and information about parking is available at: www.saturdaymorningphysics.org.

"I think it's an unusual experience," Zorn says. "You're seeing top-flight scientists, and we have some amazing people around here. You see them live, and sure it's not as polished as watching Nova, but there is something about watching live people."

Zorn says the audience is so enthusiastic members stay at least half an hour afterward to talk with the speakers. "There's vigorous questioning and people are circling. That's what makes it special," Zorn says. "Frankly, I'm surprised to see how devoted our people are to it."

Pfizer Inc has provided funding to videotape the lectures for broadcast on the Michigan Channel and Ann Arbor Community Access Television on Comcast Cable, channel 22.

When the lectures first were proposed, Zorn, a University faculty member since 1962, was skeptical. The lectures began in West Hall, in a room that held 75 people. Zorn says he didn't think it would fill; but from the start the series has been a success and organizers had to move to a larger room in Dennison.

Zorn says some of the more popular SMP topics have been astrophysics; a series of talks on the history of the atomic bomb by T. Michael Sanders; and a lecture on antimatter by Richard Vallery. Rabuck recalls Life Sciences Institute professor Daniel Klionsky's "Supermarket Biology" lecture, which featured information to decipher food labels with less confusion.

"No matter who attends, you learn in ways designed to be very understandable—particle physics, Big Bang—put out in ways you don't have to have a Ph.D. to understand," Zorn says.

Rabuck says a mix of generations attends the lectures, from children to teenagers who may get extra credit for their high school physics or chemistry classes to senior citizens.

"People have traveled from as far away as northern Ohio, as far west as Grand Rapids, and as far north as Traverse City to attend a Saturday Morning Physics lecture," Rabuck says. "We have many visitors who fill their notepads for their personal educational growth."

One machine that has proven effective in the lab is the Van de Graaff generator, Zorn says. It produces sparks and is the machine commonly known to make people's hair stand on end when they touch the sphere.

During the years, other technological advances have helped improve the quality of the lectures. In addition to the transition to digital technology, hand-held student response systems are utilized during SMP.

Instruments similar to a calculator are wired to a computer so when the lecturer asks a multiple-choice question, audience members can push a button indicating their answer. This allows lecturers to know how many audience members understand a concept immediately after it is taught. The response systems are a fantastic teaching tool, according to Rabuck, and are a window into the brain of a student.

"I hope it [community outreach] helps to encourage younger SMP members to pursue physics as both a vocation and an avocation," Rabuck adds.