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The annual Physics and Astronomy Open House features live demonstrations and research presentations.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Physics and Astronomy will hold an open house on Saturday, November 23, 8:30 a.m.–noon. The event is free and open to the public. Local high school teachers and students have also been invited to attend.

Ten sites in UH Mānoa’s Watanabe Hall and one in Krauss Annex will feature physics and astronomy research and applications of physics described by university faculty and students.

The open house includes a variety of live demonstrations that illustrate physics principles in mechanics, optics and electricity and magnetism. The hands-on demonstrations will allow attendees to experiment with angular momentum and center of gravity, operate a hover craft, check out polarized light effects, experience the power of electromagnets and more.

Classroom topics

  • Large Hadron Collider and the Higgs Boson—The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics honored the theory that predicted the Higgs boson. Learn about the experiment at CERN that confirmed this fundamental particle.
  • Nanophysics—Examine the world through ultra-high resolution microscopes, including a state-of-the-art atomic force microscope and a scanning-tunneling electron microscope, both of which produce stunning images of atomic surface structures.
  • Free Electron Laser—See the laser invented by UH Mānoa’s John Madey, which has a wide variety of fundamental and applied research uses, from ultra-sensitive LIDAR and remote sensing, to medical research applications for hard- and soft-tissue studies.
  • Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Experiment in Space—Learn how scientists are using the unique environment of space to advance knowledge of the universe by searching for antimatter and dark matter, and by measuring cosmic rays.

Other sessions focus on a variety of physics topics, including particle detection, neutrinos and dark matter. A full agenda is available in the News and Events section of the Physics and Astronomy website.

Activities begin at 8:30 a.m., with an overview of the events in the HIG Auditorium. Groups will then follow a schedule until 11 a.m. The public is welcome to join one of the groups before 11 a.m. and/or to visit sites informally from 11 a.m. until noon.

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