Summer 2016: 'Fractals Rock' and 'Exploding Universe' play at the UAA Planetarium
by Michelle Saport |
'Fractals Rock' presented by UAA mathematics professors Larry Foster, Ph.D., Stefanos Folias, Ph.D., and Sam Cook, Ph.D. Friday, June 24, 6:30 p.m. ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, Room 220
Fractals are all around us in the natural world, spanning a huge range of scales. The same patterns repeat themselves again and again, from the tiny branching of our blood vessels and neurons to the branching of trees, lightning bolts and river networks. Fractals also serve as intricately beautiful representations of the otherwise abstract world of mathematics. They're surprisingly simple to make, but the closer you look at them, the more complexities you find. "Fractals Rock!" will take you on a visual tour of the endless fractal patterns of nature and magnify for you the infinite complexity of mathematical art.
Watch a preview of "Fractals Rock." Tickets are on sale now at UAATix.com.
'Exploding Universe' presented by UAA physics professor Suzanne Nicols, Ph.D. Friday, June 24, 8 p.m. ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, Room 220
Out of devastating events in the cosmos comes new creation. Explosive phenomena are responsible for the way we see the universe today and not all of them happen on a grand scale.
When giant stars explode as "supernovas," they seed the galaxies with heavy elements that make planets and life possible. Some collisions we are only just now starting to understand. For example, when black holes collide, they can throw off some of the most energetic particles known, ripping and warping space as they go. Other "explosions" have profound effects as well, such as the beauty and power of supervolcanoes, which have contributed to the transformation of our world into the life-bearing oasis we now enjoy. The smallest of explosions, such as the forced impact of atoms, can echo the foundation events of the early universe.
As the universe has transformed into the structure we live in now, even the most elementary particles have endured. This show follows the path of one of these particles, a proton, as it participates in nature's astounding events of rebirth and renewal.
Watch the "Exploding Universe" trailer. Tickets are on sale now at UAATix.com.
"Summer 2016: 'Fractals Rock' and 'Exploding Universe' play at the UAA Planetarium" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.