Friday Flyer - December 9, 2022
It has been a while since our last Friday Flyer. Where have we been? Since our last Flyer on November 11, we have had Thanksgiving (USA), then Ken and Shane have been working with high school teachers, high school students (learners) and graduate students in South Africa associated with the 2022 African School of Physics.
Spotlight on QuarkNet Fellows
The QuarkNet Fellows Program began in 2007 to develop the leadership potential of experienced teachers by working together and with QuarkNet staff. There are currently over 30 fellows who constitute a force multiplier for engagement with centers and their teachers. Fellows are organized in five areas: coding, cosmic rays, LHC, neutrino, and teaching & learning. Fellows work with staff to create activities and to develop and facilitate national workshops at centers. In addition, fellows facilitate Data Camp, and Coding Camps 1 and 2. As classroom teachers, fellows try out new activities with students and provide feedback to improve the growing number of activities.
A Fellows Camp was held at Fermilab on November 4-6 where many fellows worked together and with QuarkNet staff to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and consistency of center experiences. Fellows will continue to play an important role in QuarkNet in 2023. Look for them assisting during IMC 2023, International Muon Week, Data Camp, Coding Camps, national workshops at a center near you, and beyond. Thank you, fellows!
News from QuarkNet Central
International Masterclasses: Now, IMC 2023 is scheduled with CERN videoconferences running February 10 to March 31 and Fermilab videoconferences February 25 to March 31. Registration forms will close on Monday. There is a form for each of the three flavors of Fermilab videocon: ATLAS Z, CMS WZH and MINERvA Neutrino masterclasses.
Starting Monday, we will switch to registration by email: contact Ken, Spencer, or Shane. For more news, check out the new IMC circular for December 8, 2022.
Data Activities Portfolio: Rolling with Rutherford and Shuffling the Particle Deck are now available in Spanish! Watch for more DAP activities to be translated moving forward.
Center Annual Reports: Mentors and lead teachers...If you have not yet submitted your annual report for this year, please do so ASAP. Here are instructions for submitting your report. If you have any questions, please let Ken or Shane know.
Physics Experiment Roundup
Researchers take a step toward studying quantum gravity in the lab and new calculations indicate that black holes could reveal their quantum-superposition states (H/T Spencer Pasero).
The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) announces the arrival of the first science components at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. At Fermilab, another neutrino detector is on the move.
From CERN: ATLAS measurement provides a new look at Higgs and ATLAS finds evidence of "off-shell" Higgs production. CERN partners with Airbus to explore a future of cleaner aviation.
Resources
Looking for some good physics reads from this year? Check out this article from Symmetry. Videos from Fermilab's Don Lincoln: "How Fast is Gravity?" and "How Cold Can It Get?" Even Bananas on how fast neutrinos travel.
The BBC Science Focus reminds us that though protons are small, they are complex. From NOVA: the concepts of zero and infinity.
From the December 2022 issue of The Physics Teacher: solar-powered Arduinos, adventures in computation, and an article from STEP UP. From the November 2022 issue of The Physics Teacher: physics from newspapers, funicular bridges, and seasons.
The Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics (KITP) in Santa Barbara, CA will hold its annual Teachers' Conference on April 1, 2023. Register by March 1 or earlier, and apply early for need-based financial support. The 2023 conference is titled, "What’s in a crystal? – A quantum universe."
Just for Fun
Some fun forwarded from our fellows...From Jeremy Wegner, LHC fellow: "Defining Gravity" and from Rebekah Randall, Neutrino fellow: "Turtle Sandwich and Standard Model."
And from xkcd: "Astronomy Numbers" and "Spacetime Soccer."
QuarkNet Staff
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Spencer Pasero: spasero@fnal.gov
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu