Physics of Everyday Life: Understanding the News
Fred Schlachter
Tuesdays, 10a.m.-noon
We could all benefit from understanding elementary physics concepts that help explain important events affecting our lives, safety, well-being, and planet. Using lay language, images, and diagrams — instead of equations or mathematics — this course will cover energy and the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown; terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea and Iran; radiation, including popular concerns about cell phones, microwave ovens, and SmartMeters; medical-imaging technologies; and the future of transportation, particularly whether our cars should be powered by electricity, hydrogen, gasoline.
Fred Schlachter is a physicist retired from Berkeley Laboratory, following a research career in particle accelerators and atomic and molecular physics. He has authored more than 150 research publications and an article in Scientific American, and has lectured around the world. A member of the Berkeley Energy Commission, his present interests include public outreach, electrification of transportation, limitations to technology, and radiation and its potential health effects.
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