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Department of Physics525 Northwestern Avenue
West Lafayette, IN
47907-2036
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Telephone:
(765) 494-2970
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(765) 494-0706
2004 Nobel Laureate; Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics Frank Wilczek
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Quantum Beauty"
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Wednesday October 24, 2012
4:30pm 114
Refreshments are served at 4:00 p.m. in Physics room 242
http://web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/wilczek_frank.htmlDoes the world embody beautiful concepts? Mystics and philosophers long imagined that it should, and scientists gathered hints that it does, but it is really only in the twentieth century, with the development of quantum theory, that the answer emerged as a triumphant "Yes!" I'll narrate the rich intellectual history of this question, including many striking images. Then I'll discuss how looking for beauty suggests new ideas in physics today.