SMS Lecture Series

Topology, Geometry, and Nuclear Physics

Description

This lecture series will feature eminent local mathematicians or mathematics educators to share with the public some of their interests and ideas.

Speaker

Brett McInnes, National University of Singapore

Professor Brett McInnes has published 76 scientific papers on a wide variety of applications of geometry and topology to particle and nuclear physics, string theory, general relativity, and cosmology.

Abstract

At the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, one of the experiments studies what happens when nuclei of lead atoms are smashed together at extremely high speeds [over 99.99% of the speed of light]. The result is the hottest matter ever observed [about 5.5 trillion degrees K]. The behaviour of matter under such extreme conditions is not easily understood using conventional physics. Recently it has been suggested that methods from black hole theory, involving sophisticated techniques from topology and global differential geometry, may be needed to predict its behaviour. I will talk about one such application, in a non-technical way.

Audience

General (Suitable for students at JC Level and above)

Date

March 11 (Monday) 2013 / 4.30-5.30pm

Venue

NUS, LT31

Registration Fee

FREE

Registration

For catering purposes, we request all attendees to register. School teachers may do group registration for their students and teachers by choosing the “group registration” option and indicate the number of people attending the lecture in the online registration form.

Coordinator

Dr Ng Kah Loon