Date: Thursday, May 10th

When: 6:00- 7:30 PM

Where: ISB 231

As usual, refreshments will be served, and everyone is welcome!

1. Undergraduate Photo: Tuesday, May 15th; meet in the ISB Lobby at 4 PM.   You’ve all probably seen that 3 or 4 year old photo of the undergraduates a little way down the hall from the chaos pendulum, or the photos in the undergraduate lounge in Thimann. Well, courtesy of Professor Belanger, this tradition is going to be restarted, so please come and share in some undergraduate physics camaraderie!
2. SPS Movie Night and Potluck: Friday, May 18th at 8 PM in ISB 231. We’ll be watching an interview or two of the renowned Richard P. Feynman. So bring a snack to share, and friend with you, and come for some bongo-esque physics fun!
3. SPS Undergraduate Symposium: Thursday May, 31st from 6:00 - 7:30 PM in ISB 231.   Come check out the end of the quarter SPS meeting where you’ll have several mini-talks put on by your a few of your fellow undergrads!
4. Spring Physics Picnic: Date TBD. In hopes of keeping this annual tradition going for this year, SPS would like to ask for volunteers to help with the set up and clean up of the physics picnic, people who will be willing to check equipment out for Howie’s Fun Filled Softball Game, someone who can provide transportation for buying the food the day of (don’t worry, you wont have to pay for the food). If anyone is interested please let me know.

In the News:

Date: Thursday, May 3rd

When: 6:00-7:30 PM

Where: ISB 231

What: Computer Simulations of Convection and Magnetic Field Generation in Planets

“Observations of the zonal winds and magnetic fields on giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn beg the questions of what flows and fields exist well below their surfaces and how are they maintained.  In roughly five years, NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter and the Cassini Solstice mission at Saturn will provide near-surface measurements of the gravity and magnetic fields of these giant planets that will help to answer these questions.  These problems are also being studied via computer simulations, which will provide predictions for what may be discovered at Jupiter and Saturn.  The same questions have been studied for convection and magnetic field generation in terrestrial planets, like the Earth.  Spontaneous magnetic dipole reversals were first seen in 3D self-consistent geodynamo simulations nearly two decades ago.  I will describe several simulations, including computer graphical movies, of giant planet and terrestrial planet dynamos.”

As usual, refreshments will be served and everyone is welcome. Hope to see you there!

1. Astronomy Research Social– Tuesday, May 8th, 3:30 PM in ISB 102:    This event is aimed at those interested in doing research in astronomy and, in particular, those looking for a SENIOR THESIS TOPIC in astronomy. Come and talk to faculty, graduate students, and postdocs about research opportunities, get insights on doing research in institutions such as NASA AMES, and how to give poster presentations.
2. SPS Movie Night and Potluck– Friday, May 18th, 8:00 PM in ISB 231:     We will be watching one or two interviews or lectures with the fine man himself: Richard P. Feynman. Which ones will be decided upon by those who show up; the choices will be amongst, but not limited to, The Messenger Lectures: “Law of Universal Gravitation,” The Messenger Lectures: “Characterization of Physical Law,” Interview: The Pleasure of Finding Things out, or Special: The last Journey of a Genius.
3. Undergraduate Symposium– Thursday, May 31st, 6:00-7:30 PM in ISB 231:    Instead of our usual faculty given talks, we will instead be hosting several short talks by your undergraduate peers! We still have room for one or two more speakers, so if you are interested in giving talk about your research, a particularly interesting paper you’ve read, or some other physics related subject matter; please let us know soon! The specifics of this years talk will be announced shortly.

1. Movie Night– Friday, May 18th. We will be watching either Apollo13, A Beautiful Mind, or something from Feynman. Please let us know if you have a preference. In addition to the movie, there will also be a potluck. (You are not required to bring something in order to attend, but it does make the evening more fun!)
2. Undergraduate Symposium– Thursday May 31st. Come hear several presentations from your fellow undergraduates on what they are studying in physics. Details of what each speaker will present will be given closer to the date.

1. 1st observation of coherent quantum phase slip in Josephson junction
2. The Lancet highlights role of physics in medicine
3. New optical technique promises rapid and accurate diagnosis of malaria infection
4. Most LAT detected gamma rays cannot be attributed to individual point sources
5. Measurements of atmospheric electric field could help forecast weather
6. Physicists observe the splitting of an electron inside a solid
7. ALMA’s first results tackle the controversial Fomalhaut
8. IceCube detector puts the chill on fireball model of gamma ray bursts
9. New study finds mysterious lack of dark matter in Sun’s neighborhood
10. Dirac cones could exist in bismuth-antimony films
11. NASA mission wants amateur astronomers to target asteroids
12. New AAAS analysis of the House budget’s impacts on R&D
13. House panel would protect domestic fusion program
14. More budget updates: NIST fares well. House panel tops Senate mark for NSF
15. Accepted/rejected — Now what?
16. After you’re accepted to graduate school

Hope to see you at this weeks meeting!

This week’s SPS talk will be given by Joel Kubby, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, on Adaptive Optics for Biological Imaging.

Date: Thursday, April 4th

When: 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Where: ISB 231/235

• Elusive Majorana fermions may be lurking in a cold nanowire
• Dying sun-like stars drive off dust that seeds other solar systems
• Graphene capsule reveals nanocrystal growth in action
• CDF and D0 report precise measurements of W boson mass, predictions of Higgs mass
• Hydrogen at extremely high pressure
• Cancer therapy gets a boost from new isotope
• Pulsars could probe space-time around black holes
• Is sharing the Square Kilometer Array an option?
• Controversial science teaching bill to become law in Tennessee
• Survival strategies for African-American astronomers and astrophysicists

“For three years, Sam Bell has worked as the sole astronaut harvesting He-3 from the moon’s surface.

With only 2 weeks before returning to Earth, Sam has an accident while out of the base. He wakes up in the infirmary with no memory of the accident and finding that his artificial intelligence assistant GERTY is no longer allowing him to leave the base….

Why is GERTY restricting him? What happened on a routine He-3 retrieval? Bring a friend and a snack and find out!”

Date: Wednesday February 22nd

When: 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Where: ISB 235

This week’s SPS talk will be given by professor Tesla Jeltema on The History of the Cosmos and Our Understanding of It. As of last quarter, professor Jeltema was a new addition to the awesome array of professors here at UCSC, so let’s give her a warm welcome at this week’s meeting.

History of the Cosmos and Our Understanding of It

“I will give an overview of our current understanding of the composition of the universe and its formation following the big bang.  I will also review some of the major observations which led us to this picture, with a particular focus on what astronomical observations tell us about dark matter and dark energy.”

Society of Physics Students:

The two-slit experiment is the quintessential quantum experiment. It embodies all the, still baffling, mysteries of quantum mechanics. After briefly describing the usual experimental format, I’ll present a completely equivalent version that more dramatically displays the bafflement. The two-slit experiment raises questions about the nature of physical reality and displays an enigmatic encounter with “consciousness,” an issue increasingly–and contentiously–discussed today.