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Find hands-on demonstrations and more at the 2018 Physics and Astronomy Open House.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s annual Department of Physics and Astronomy Open House will be held Saturday, November 10, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Watanabe Hall. The event is free and open to the public. High school students, teachers and adults are encouraged to attend.

“The physics and astronomy department participates in fundamental and applied research both locally and through inter-institutional and international collaborations,” said Assistant Professor Kurtis Nishimura. “I encourage anyone who’s interested in learning more about the wide variety of research done here to come learn more at the open house.”

Eight sites in Watanabe Hall will offer physics and astronomy research and applications of physics as described by university faculty and students. The theoretical physics station will feature Professor Xerxes Tata addressing the question, “How does physics help us understand and make connections between phenomena at very large scales and at very small scales?”

Open lab tours from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. will highlight directional dark matter detection, neutron imaging, radiation, nano physics and the Mark III free-electron laser.

Live demonstrations from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. will illustrate physics principles in mechanics, optics, and electricity and magnetism. The hands-on demonstrations will allow attendees to experiment with angular momentum and center of gravity, operate a hovercraft, check out polarized light effects, and experience the power of electromagnets, among other fun and educational activities.

There will also be a virtual reality demonstration using the Oculus Rift headset of the Belle II, a particle physics detector located in Tsukuba, Japan. Electron-positron collisions are viewed inside the Belle II detector. The tracks and energy depositions as particles move, shower and interact can be viewed in virtual reality. This demonstration was developed at Virginia Tech and has been shown at events around the world.

More information is available on the event website.

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