Travelling back to the earliest moments of the Universe at free public lecture
21 Aug 2007 | Bernie Goldie
We've all heard of the Nobel Prize for Physics but how many of us actually know what it is awarded for?
A free public lecture in Wollongong on Friday 24 August, run by the Australian Institute of Physics (NSW branch) in collaboration with University of Wollongong's School of Physics and the Wollongong Science Centre, has enlisted an expert in the field to explain the previous year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
Associate Professor Geraint Lewis of the University of Sydney’s Institute of Astronomy will present the lecture entitled “The Quark to the Cosmos – the 2007 Nobel Lecture”.
Professor Lewis was born in Old South Wales, and studied Physics at London University and Cambridge. Since completing his PhD he has worked in the State University of New York, Victoria University in Canada, and the University of Washington in Seattle. He then became a Research Astronomer at the Anglo-Australian Observatory before joining the University of Sydney in 2002 to study cosmology.
The Big Bang theory was proposed in 1927, but it took nearly 40 years for proof to be found. Known as the "Afterglow of Creation", the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background in 1965 was hailed as outstanding evidence of the Hot Big Bang picture of the early universe and won Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson the 1978 Nobel Prize.
Little did they know that the background radiation carries a deeper secret, a picture of the Universe at the very earliest moments that depicts the seething of the quantum vacuum throughout the cosmos. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to George Smoot and John Mather, who revealed this picture in amazing detail, showing the seeds that grew into the stars and galaxies we see around us today.
In this fully illustrated talk, Professor Lewis will explain in layperson's terms the fascinating history of the study of the cosmos and the ramifications of Smoot and Mather's discoveries.
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When: Friday 24 August, 6.30pm. Where: Wollongong Science Centre, Squires Way, Wollongong. The lecture will be preceded by a Science Centre interactive exhibit running from 6pm to 6.30pm.
Media request: **** Organisers would be appreciative of any pre-publicity for this free public lecture
Note: Due to limited seated, bookings are essential by phoning Kim Noble on 4286 5000 (menu option 3) or email Kim Noble at Kim_Noble@uow.edu.au
For further information contact Coral Byrnes at UOW’s Centre for Medical Radiation Physics on (02) 4221 3507.
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