June 25, 2007

Fundamental physics in 2010 (low-quality flash video): a talk by notable theoretical physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed, professor at Harvard, as delivered to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in February 2007. He gives a great introduction to the status and crises in the Standard Model of Particles and Interactions, together with his impression of how the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with its unprecedented ability to make observations in the 10-19m range will change the model. The talk should be accessible to a general audience.
posted by fuyugare 16 years ago
  • New Yorker article about the L.H.C. Can a 17-mile-long collider unlock the universe?
  • Hooray physics! *goes back to cosmic ray research*
  • The talk should be accessible to a general audience. Well, after watching about halfway through, I finally have proof that I'm not even qualified to be part of a general audience! I'll just go over there and play with my blocks.
  • Not to worry TUM I found it completely accessible with the equipment I have. Unfortunately, with the other equipment I have, it was not completely understandable. Accessible/understandable, whatever.
  • The Perimeter Institute is about two miles from my office, and I've always wanted to go to one of their public lectures. This would have been a good one, even if somewhat over my head.
  • Many of them are on googletube. Some are pretty inscrutable, though.
  • The name's Collider - Hadron Collider. But most people call me "Large". That's how it is in the gumshoe racket, everybody's got a nickname to hide behind. Makes it easier when you gotta rough up a couple goons if you don't use your real name. Like when a beautiful dame walks into your office and asks you to find a missing relative and offers you five c-notes a day plus expenses, you know you might need that kind of protection. And that's why I ended up knocking a few of these goons' heads together, see - it was strictly for business purposes. She asked me to find someone named Higgs - Higgs Boson. And if I had to smash a few guys together to do it - well, that's just how it is in the big city.
  • Old Spice means quality, said the Cap'n to Higgs Boson; Ask for the package with the ship and lots of protons! Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho!
  • TUM, you're not alone. Just a quick dip into these waters caused me to raise some impressive hives, reminiscent of those experienced while facing my physics finals sometime back in the last century. Heck, even the posted Tom Lehrer stuff caused me a mild anxiety attack. *squints at screen, rattles abacus beads in frustration*
  • I'm not going to even look, because I'm already feeling kind of lost today.
  • Thanks for this fuyugare! I don't think i understood everything but i still loves this stuff. Makes me want to learn more. Physicists have been hewing away at some of the basic questions about the universe with amazing success and yet sadly, the answers haven't been made more easily understandable to a wider audience. Also: religion is supposed to give us answers to the big questions - yet it would be amusing to think of a rabbi, priest or imam delivering a passionate talk on the Large Hadron Collider.