News Archives

3-D printed trumpet by Garage Physics student Daniel Montez

Undergraduate student Daniel Montez uses the 3-D printer in Garage Physics for rapid prototyping of a trumpet. He wanted to see if it was possible to produce a brass instrument with similar sound aspects, while being inexpensive to make and be able to survive being dropped, making it ideal for younger music students first trying out the instrument. Each piece was 3D printed separately using PLA plastic, and they fit together to create the instrument.

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Wonders of Physics, multiple show times

The Laws of Physics: Professor Sprott has been accused of breaking the laws of physics! Is that possible? If not, how can physicists explain the seemingly impossible things that happen in some experiments? Join Professor Sprott and the UW-Madison Physics Crew as they unravel this mystery!
Volunteer opportunities may be available, please follow link below.
Show times:
February 7 – 1, 4, and 7 pm. February 8 – 1 and 4 pm. February 14 – 1, 4, and 7 pm. February 15 – 1 and 4 pm.

Wonders of Physics info page

Felipe Gutierrez, AMEP major, wins a WID Frontier Fellowship

The purpose of this project is to build an interactive display to promote community learning. A sculpture will be developed to facilitate interactive learning about the brain and the neural pathways involved in every-day tasks. The goal is to develop a presentation to benefit people of all ages in the community and communicate the exciting research being done in the field of neuroscience. The team will be working closely with the WID and Town Center in order to participate in Outreach events as well as other events held in the Madison community.

Garage Physics – Simulating Brain Activity

Particle Fever @ Marquee Theater, Union South, 7pm

On Wednesday, January 21, 7pm, a special edition of Wednesday Nite @ the Lab will feature a screening of Particle Fever at the Marquee Theater in Union South, UW–Madison. The film follows six brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, marking the start-up of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet. 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries join forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter. Particle Fever is a celebration of discovery, revealing the very human stories behind the tale of this epic experiment.

UW physics professors that had key roles in the Higgs discovery will give an introduction to the film. The screening is presented by the Physics Department, Wednesday Nite @ the Lab, and WUD Film.

The Department is saddened by the passing of Prof. Ugo Camerini.

Prof. Camerini, 89 years old, died peacefully at home on November 21, 2014. Prof. Camerini was mentor to more than 20 graduate students during his 42 year career at Wisconsin. For his innovation in the development of Physics 109 – Physics in the Arts – he was given a University Teaching Award in 1984. After his retirement in the Fall of 1999, Ugo focused his energies on the Physics Museum, developing new exhibits. Ugo was a very lively person who shall aways be remembered for his colorful use of language, his candor, and his wit.

Francis Halzen named a winner of the 2014 American Ingenuity Award

Halzen is being honored for his decades-long effort to build a massive, cubic kilometer telescope under the Antarctic ice to detect cosmic neutrinos. Last year, the telescope yielded the first evidence of cosmic neutrinos, nearly massless high-energy particles thought to come from cosmic sources such as supernovae, black holes and the violent cores of galaxies. The work opened a new field of astronomy.

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Wisconsin Science Festival 2014 – Visit website for lots of activity options

The Wisconsin Science Festival is the passion of a growing coalition of scientists, artists, citizens and organizations dedicated to engaging everyone in the wonder and power of science, technology, engineering, art and math.

WiSciFest website

Mark Saffman on the radio show “Perpetual Motion Machine”

Mark Saffman discusses quantum reality and its implications for quantum computing in a 30 minute radio show on WORT.

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Justin Vandenbroucke turns smartphones into pocket cosmic ray detectors

With a simple app addition, Android phones, and likely other smartphone brands in the not-too-distant future, can be turned into detectors to capture the light particles created when cosmic rays crash into Earth’s atmosphere.

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