Frontiers of Science lecture to explore physics of jamming

Frontiers of Science lecture to explore physics of jammingFebruary 18, 2009Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

The second installment of the Spring 2009 Frontiers of Science Lecture Series will feature assistant professor of physics Jennifer Schwarz presenting “Jamming in Granular Materials” Wednesday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Gifford Auditorium, located in Huntington Beard Crouse Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in the Irving Garage.

Those who have ever experienced the frustration of trying to get stuck coffee beans out of a dispenser, throwing away expensive paint that has dried out and hardened, or even getting caught in a traffic jam might be interested to know that these phenomena are all examples of what physicists call “jamming.” One of the oldest, unsolved problems in physics, jamming is defined as the transition of a many-body system from a fluid-like state to a disordered solid-like state. While the transition from a fluid state to an ordered solid state is well understood (for example liquid water becoming ice), scientists have yet to uncover an explanation for transitions to the disordered solid-like state.

The lecture will include a discussion of the ways in which scientists are trying to unravel the mystery and a few experiments with granular materials.

The Frontiers of Science Lecture Series is presented by the Department of Science Teaching in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences and is co-sponsored by a number of the college’s departments, SU’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and a number of engineering departments, SU’s School of Education, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Office of the Dean of Hendricks Chapel and the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute.