This class will be a series of very short (7-8 min.) lightning lectures on various topics in modern physics, designed to give a conceptual overview of each topic and what is interesting and exciting about it. Session 1 will include topics like Special Relativity, General Relativity/Cosmology, The Early Universe/Inflation, Unsolved Problems in Physics (quantum theory of gravity, what's going on with dark energy/dark matter), and the LHC/the Higgs particle.

This class will be a series of very short (7-8 min.) lightning lectures on various topics in modern physics, designed to give a conceptual overview of each topic and what is interesting and exciting about it. Session 2 will include topics like quantum mechanics, quantum computing/information, the measurement problem (what's still wrong with quantum mechanics), solid state physics, and statistical mechanics/thermodynamics.

Want to see what happens when you cool something over 300 degrees below the freezing point of water? Interested in seeing how you can use everyday household ingredients to create fluids that get thicker when you push on them? Stop by this walk-in activity for some fun with liquid nitrogen, non-Newtonian fluids, and more.

Probably the most well-known equation in all of physics was derived by Einstein in 1905: $$E=mc^2$$. This equation came with a radical new notion of how space and time are related. Einstein's theory, dubbed the Special Theory of Relativity, is now an essential part of our understanding of the universe. This course will cover the main ideas of special relativity, including length contraction, time dilation and the invariance of the speed of light. Time permitting, we will discuss how the effects of relativity have major implications to how charges and currents interact, and may also touch on ideas from General Relativity, which is the most successful theory of gravity to date.

Do you like playing with lasers? Ever wonder how a gyroscope moves? Magnets - how do those work? Come join us for some fun physics demos including air tracks, pendulums and experiments you can play with for yourself!

Physics is all around us. Every day we hear stories about bigger and better particle colliders, an expanding universe, and new forms of exotic matter. This course is geared at getting you up to speed on some of the newest and most exciting discoveries in modern physics. MIT's Society for Physics Students have compiled a set of lightning lectures on topics including: -Cosmology and the Big Bang -Quantum Mechanics and Particle Physics -Relativity and Gravity -Statistical Mechanics -Astrophysics Come be a part of the cutting edge of physics.