MSUM Physics/Astronomy Seminar Series
Please join this week for the first eries of talks by seminar students. The students have been working throughout the semester to find interesting articles from the literature to present to a wide audience.
Friday, Nov. 8
3-3:50 p.m.
325 Hagen Hall
•Kyle Salk: Why Do Stars Twinkle, and Why Do They Twinkle on Mars?
Twinkling is a phenomenon that seems unique to stars and not to other stellar objects, such as planets. We will discuss various models of twinkling, and the conditions needed for us to observe twinkling on Earth, and if it is possible to observe twinkling on other planets. Authors: L. Whitehead, J. Huizinga, M. Mossman.
•John Ragan: Rolling the Black Pearl, Analyzing the Physics of a Movie Clip
In one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, the crew manage to capsize a large Spanish galleon using only materials found on the ship and their own motion. We will discuss if this is plausible, and how it can be understood at an introductory physics level to interest students in physics. Authors: C. Mungan, J. Emery.