What are we made of? How can we build complex structures out of simple ones? Are the structures we know truly simple? These are some of the questions particle physicists ask everyday. In this course, we will try to understand how our continuous world is discretized into lego-like building blocks ("particles"), and how physicists can discuss properties of these particles, predict their behavior, and make detectors to observe them directly. We will also discuss how physics at small scales can have manifest effects on physics at the large scale, and how this gives insight into what the truly fundamental building blocks of nature are. The main focus of the course will be on detecting cosmic ray particles by building a "cloud chamber". These particles are the by products of high energy cosmic rays hitting the Earth's atmosphere creating cosmic ray "showers". The results can be detected using condensed isopropyl alcohol, and we will try to observe this effect and identify a few different particles.

For generations, humans have been fascinated by the stars, and gazed further and further into the night sky. However, as we began to know more and more about the universe, we quickly began to lose our ability to see all of it. For example, how do you "see" a black hole - an inherently "invisible" object? Gravitational wave astronomy is a breakthrough method to understand our universe, by looking at the miniscule imprints of large objects on the fabric of spacetime. In this class, we will discuss diverse aspects of physics, from wave concepts to theories of gravity, as well as the ongoing (and recently successful!) race to find gravitational waves, and the many complications involved.

For generations, humans have been fascinated by the stars, and gazed further and further into the night sky. However, as we began to know more and more about the universe, we quickly began to lose our ability to see all of it. For example, how do you "see" a black hole - an inherently "invisible" object? Gravitational wave astronomy is a breakthrough method to understand our universe, by looking at the miniscule imprints of large objects on the fabric of spacetime. In this class, we will discuss diverse aspects of physics, from wave concepts to theories of gravity, as well as the current race to find gravitational waves, and the many complications involved.

We've all seen laser guns in Star Wars, but how do they work? Are they practical weapons? In this class we will discuss the concepts in quantum mechanics that laser technology arises from, as well as the differences between laser weaponry in science fiction and in reality. Discussions will include elementary principles of energy, atomic structure, photon emission processes, electromagnetic waves and optics, gain, and applications of laser technology. One part of two independent courses on physics in modern weaponry.

How does electricity work? What on Earth is a railgun? In this class, we will discuss fundamentals of the field(s) of electromagnetism, and how the applications of electricity are diverse. These will focus on a the seemingly sci-fi technology of "railguns", which arise from electromagnetic induction (Faraday's law). This is an exciting new weapons technology currently in development in the US Navy based on electric propulsion, rather than chemical propulsion commonly used in firearms. Topics we will discuss include force and energy, charge, electric current, electric/magnetic fields and field lines, Lorentz force, and Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. This will culminate in discussing how railguns work. One course in two independent courses on the physics in modern weaponry.