Friday Flyer - February 23, 2024
Spotlight on the University of Minnesota QuarkNet Center
The University of Minnesota QuarkNet center has hosted a teacher workshop nearly every year since 2002. Summer 2023 was no exception, as mentor Greg Pawloski and lead teachers Karin Foss and Jon Anderson worked with QuarkNet staff to organize a workshop that focused on some QuarkNet "classics" while also exploring some of QuarkNet's latest activities. The center welcomed a few new teachers to the program in 2023, and Julie Hogan, CMS physicist and professor at nearby Bethel University, joined the group to both participate and share her expertise. Teachers heard talks on topics including SUSY, citizen science/Zooniverse, and the Standard Model. They also attended a poster session where they were able to interact with students who had participated in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Minnesota in 2023. The center also hosted a NOvA neutrino masterclass in March 2023 which gave the developers of this measurement, including Greg Pawloski and Neutrino fellow Mike Plucisnki, a chance to try out the latest iteration of this new masterclass measurement, which is making its debut in International Masterclasses 2024.
News from QuarkNet Central
International Muon Week 2024: Measure cosmic ray rates around the world during International Muon Week April 1-12, 2024. This is an opportunity for you and your students to see if the muon rate changes during the total solar eclipse in North America on April 8. Find out more information on this IMW 2024 website, including details on how to become involved and to register.
Beamline for Schools 2024: The Beamline for Schools (BL4S) 2024 competition is now open for high school teams to compete for the chance to perform an experiment at CERN or DESY. Learn more: Read the announcement from CERN!
International Masterclasses: CERN-based masterclass videoconferences have begun, and Fermilab-based masterclass videoconferences will start on March 1. If your center is not signed up, but is still interested in participating in IMC 2024, it may be possible to join. We still have a (reduced) number of slots, so go ahead and check out the Fermilab masterclass videoconference schedule, pick an open date or time, and send an email to Ken or Shane. Want more information? Read the IMC circular from February 16 and from today.
Speaking of which, it is also time for masterclass orientation. These are designed to help mentors, tutors, and teachers learn about the masterclass measurement they will facilitate, as well as the nuts and bolts of running a masterclass. Inquire with Shane, Spencer, or Ken and schedule it at a time convenient for your group.
Fermilab 2024 Guest Artist: A big congratulations to Agnes Chavez, who has recently been named 2024 guest artist at Fermilab, where she will, "Bring her creative approach to integrating art, science and technology to the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory." Agnes has partnered with QuarkNet for many years now, working with staff, fellows, teachers and students, and she is currently a member of the QuarkNet Advisory Board. Read more about the announcement from Fermilab News and check out the STEMarts website to learn more about some of her projects that bring together art, science, and technology.
Physics Experiment Roundup
We'll start the roundup with news from CERN, including an update that the LHC is gearing up for a new physics run as the winter maintenance break comes to an end. Read about the ongoing hunt for new physics at the LHC from MIT Technology Review, and about a four-legged "robodog" on patrol at the LHC, from Popular Science. The CMS collaboration explores how AI can be used in its search for particles, and they've measured the speed of sound in the quark-gluon pasma.
Meanwhile, at Fermilab scientists get ready to observe neutrinos with the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND). Learn about Fermilab's accelerator complex in this video that goes behind the scenes to see how the accelerators and their operators work to support Fermilab's mission.
From Symmetry: LIGO plans to expand to India in order to enhance capabilities in measuring gravitational waves. APS Physics brings us an article on the a surprising finding from JWST: it sees more galaxies than expected. And from Big Think, an article by Don Lincoln on muon mysteries.
Resources
Don Lincoln takes a deep dive into the four known fundamental forces in this recent video.
In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, CERN highlights the stories of nine women scientists who work there, showcasing their diverse roles, contributions, and experiences in advancing scientific research at the forefront of particle physics.
From Symmetry: "A Day In the Life of a Human-in-the-Loop Engineer", and "From Life Experience to Research Experience."
Perimeter Institute will be hosting a public lecture titled "Why We Have Not Discovered Dark Matter: A Theorist's Apology" on February 28, available both in-person and via live stream. Additionally, registration is now open for their 2024 Summer Teacher Courses, featuring a blend of asynchronous and virtual synchronous components. Furthermore, Perimeter has announced an upcoming Solar Eclipse & Astronomy online workshop scheduled for March 21, serving as preparation for the solar eclipse in April.
Just for Fun
We'll begin with "fun with extrapolation", including an extrapolation analysis of banana prices and sphere tastiness.
Next, we'll go from sphere tastiness to some "Fermi Questions" from the February 2024 issue of The Physics Teacher on the melting of snow spheres. (TPT provides the solutions as well.)
On the topic of snow spheres...ever wonder the size of the largest snowball in the world? Wonder no more.
Finally...we'll end with one more completely unrelated xkcd: Why astronomers hate leap years.
QuarkNet Staff
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Spencer Pasero: spasero@fnal.gov
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu