Conference “Developments in Optics and Communications 2016”

Posted on 10/07/201610/07/2016 by YM Webmaster

A little earlier than usual – just before Easter -, from the 21st to 23rd of March, the 12th International student and young scientist conference “Developments in Optics and Communications 2016” (DOC 2016) was held in Riga. It gathered many brilliant young scientists from different countries to share their scientific work, insights and experiences in various fields related to optics: vision science, optical materials, biophotonics, laser physics and spectroscopy.

Each topic also featured an invited speaker that shared their experience with the young scientists. This year from Latvia – Dr. Mara Reinfelde talked about “Practical application of holography” for the Laser Physics and Spectroscopy section, University of Latvia OSA student chapter advisor Dr. Florian Gahbauer gave an amazing speech on the topic of “Magnetic sensing with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in synthetic diamond”. The conference organizers had also invited speakers from Israel and Finland to talk about their research.

Dr. Igor Meglinski was invited to tell students about “Cloud Monte Carlo for the needs of biomedical optics” for the biophotonics section and Prof. Zeev Zalevsky from Israel gave a speech about “Super resolved and extended depth of focus concepts for remote and ophthalmic imaging systems” for vision science students. Students were so engaged in Prof. Zalevskys speech that it took almost an extra 20 minutes just to answer all the questions and give in-depth explanations of his work.

Traditionally the best poster and the best oral presentation are given an award for their work funded by University of Latvia OSA student chapter, and this year was no exception. The best speech award was given to Janis Smits for his talk “Deconvolution – a tool for enhanced resolution magnetic images” and the best poster was presented by Andris Antuzevics (“Structure of Gd3+ ions in oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing fluorite crystallites”).

This year was special also because of the conference venue. The conference was held in the newly built Academic Center for Natural Sciences of the University of Latvia (ULACNS) in Tornakalns. ULACNS opened its doors on September 7th, 2015. It was hoped that relocating to the new UL ACNS would create unprecedented opportunities for cooperation between scientific fields and study programs. And indeed it was an amazing experience to listen to talks and admire posters in the new building. The premises on the 7th floor provided an amazing view over Riga for every attendee to enjoy. The staff were also kind enough to allow conference guests to enjoy the view from the rooftop.

The conference was not only an event to present ones work and listen to others, but also a way to meet fellow physicists in an informal environment. Since the best collaboration ideas are usually born while discussing various topics outside the conference rooms, this year a friendly paint-ball tournament for the conference participants was held.

The conference was organised alongside University of Latvia SPIE and OSA chapters.

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Regional School for Young Physicists

Posted on 10/07/201610/07/2016 by YM Webmaster

The School for Young Physicists project that our Young Minds section organizes not only held monthly sessions in the capital of our country this season, but also held regular sessions in other regions as well. Namely, this season we visited schools in Valmiera, Kuldīga and Ventspils.

Regional sessions take place two or three times a semester in each location. Students from surrounding schools are given the chance to attend a free lecture course – usually session topics that have already been tested in our main events are chosen, but sometimes they get a premier look at a new topic that has not yet been presented anywhere else.

Topics discussed this season in regional sessions include, but are not limited to, probability in physics, electronics and wave optics. Students had the opportunity to conduct experiments normally not done in schools – for example, they determined the distance between the pixels in their own smartphones, or calculated the value of pi by dropping buckwheat on a piece of paper.

These regional sessions are educating not only for the students attending – teachers also find inspiration in these non-standard topics and experiments, and materials for use in lessons are often left at schools that are visited for the teachers to use free of charge.

Our Young Minds section views these regional sessions as valuable opportunities for children that live far away from the capital to get a chance for extra curricular informal learning, so we will give our best efforts to expand in this direction next season.

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6th season of School for Young Physicists

Posted on 10/07/201610/07/2016 by YM Webmaster

Along with the school year, the School for Young Physicists has finished its season as well. Nine different, fun and educational sessions took place in the University of Latvia Faculty of Physics and Mathematics on the following topics:

-forensic physics
-energetics
-biological physics
-optics
-centripetal force
-electronics
-statistical physics
-liquid physics
-elementary particle physics

Each session was attended by an average of 150 students from different schools of Latvia who arrived to listen to popular science lectures from physics students, conduct some fun experiments and learn from the very best in lectures given by professors and specialists of the field.

A season-long competition was also held – the School Cup. To contend for it, students were tested on their knowledge after every session and also had to make videos of different topics as homework. Their work was graded after every session and a scoreboard was kept and regularly updated. The competition was tough but in the end the first place was awarded to the Riga State 1st Gymnasium team “Nucleus and Electrons”. The top teams and individual performers were awarded with gifts from our supporters.

The team of School for Young physicists also visited the best regional schools in Latvia for external sessions. We visited Valmiera State Gymnasium, Ventspils 1st State Gynmnasium and Kuldīga Gymnasium, thus offering the children to attend the sessions without having the need to travel the long distance to Riga. You can read more about it here.

All the materials and reviews can be found at www.jfs.lv

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The Power of Physics – Star Wars Edition

Posted on 10/07/201610/07/2016 by YM Webmaster

We have taken advantage of the recent release of the new ‘Star Wars’ trilogy to make our previous show “Superpoderes… ¿o física?” more interactive and contemporary. This activity has been carried out -so far- at the Liceo Castilla Maristas on May 13th, 2016, where 350 students of E.S.O. and Bachillerato enjoyed it. It has had a very good feedback from both teachers and students. The length of the spectacle was one hour and a half. The experiments were divided into three different sections. All of them were introduced by different scenes, starring well-known Star Wars characters. A script for this play was created and elaborated.

The first part corresponds to the light (Jedi) side of the Force and the experiments were the following:

Vapor Display: In order to highlight the importance of the light-matter interaction, Leia uses a vapor screen to show the maps for the next mission, and she explains how it works.
Levitation: Rey travels back in time to be trained by Yoda, who is levitating using a well-known trick.
Lenz Tube: Yoda asks Rey to explain why two balls (non-magnetic and magnetic) fall with different accelerations.
Refractive index and invisibility: Yoda asks Rey to look for a ‘cristal’ for her lightsaber. Rey discovers a lot of them hidden in water where they cannot be seen, because these balls have the same refractive index as water.
As the last task of the training, Rey must walk over cristal carrying Yoda on her back, recreating somehow the 5th film scene with Luke and Yoda.

The second part is about the dark (Sith) side of the Force:
Vortex: Kylo asks Vader to train him and Vader challenges Kylo to extinguish three candles with the Force. Initially, it seems possible, but finally Vader finds a stormtrooper who is actually doing it with an air vortex and explains it.
Van der Graff: Although Kylo cannot pass the challenge, he finally persuades Vader to teach him. The first device he exhibits is a Van der Graff generator, with which they perform several experiments that insist on the idea of voltage.
Tesla coil: Vader shows Kylo another way to create a high voltage, not by accumulating charges but by electromagnetic induction.
Leidenfrost: Vader explains Kylo how he can burn his hands with no harm to avoid History to be repeated. Moreover, the audience can experience it.

In the last part of the show, the two sides of the Force face each other and the public takes part in the duel:
Luminiscence and fluorescent tubes: Rey and Kylo pretend a combat with two types of lightsaber: fluorescent tubes (blue and red), powered by hidden plasma balls, and two fluorescent-painted sticks. Both are explained by a stormtrooper in a soliloquy while Rey and Kylo pose with the fluorescent tubes on.
Mechanics games: They will insist on the concept of force and center of mass and the public is encouraged to participate.

The show finishes with a final speech against pseudoscience and supporting critical thinking.

Seminars and Workshops on General Theory of Relativity

Posted on 27/06/201627/06/2016 by YM Webmaster

The activity of weekly seminars and workshops was launched and continues successfully. Starting from January, 16 theory seminars and 7 workshops of exercises solving were held, covering first 3 chapters of book “Spacetime and Geometry. An Introduction to General Relativity” by Sean Carroll. For administration, advertisement and proper book-keeping of the activity, the website of the seminars has been created (http://www.tfk.ff.vu.lt/seminarai/english-gr-seminars/). At the end of the seminar, the seminars attracted 8 regular attendees and more occasional ones. Most of them were master/PhD students of Faculty of Physics. YM section has analyzed the feedback opinions of the participants and came to conclusion, that this subject is very exciting but also extremely tough for bachelor students and this has limited the number of attendees. The activity budged was spent as planned: we have purchased 2 books “Spacetime and Geometry. An Introduction to General Relativity” and snacks for attendees. The lecture notes were prepared and printed for each chapter at its end. Faculty of Physics of Vilnius University has provided auditorium and multimedia for the seminars. The activity will be continued during the next semester regardless of funding sources. The YM section of Vilnius University contributed to the activity by advertising the seminars in the faculty (by posters and emails in students’ mailing lists). 2 chapter members were regular attendees of the seminars and 4 chapter members were occasional attendees. As the seminars were quite popular, the talks between the chapter and faculty administration about possibilities of changing the status of the seminars to a credited regular student course has been started. If successful, the main goal of this activity will be reached.

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Outreach toward secondary school

Posted on 27/06/201627/06/2016 by YM Webmaster

The YM Section of University of Calabria has carried out in this semester an outreach activity toward secondary schools. The activity was divided into two parts:
1) Simple experiments carried out by members of the EPS-YM Section in secondary schools;
2) A guided visit of students of secondary schools in laboratories of the Department of Physics of University of Calabria.
The experiments in secondary schools had the aim to help the students to learn the concepts ruling light, electromagnetic fields and colours.
After the simple lessons, where we reminded physics behind light and colours, we organized some experiments by using a Wood’s lamp, which have been directly performed by students, with the supervision of the members of the EPS-YM Section and teachers. Students experienced how objects change their colours under the action of Wood’s lamp, or how bacteria that are invisible under visible light become noticeable under ultraviolet light. Another experiment with the Wood’s lamp had the objective to inspect paper currency and documents in order to put in evidence the existence of security strips or features, which are invisible to visible light.
We have also organized laboratory experiences related to magnetism. In particular, we observed what happens when a magnet went through a copper pipe or aluminium pipe. The students understood why magnet slows down. This phenomenon has been explained by the Faraday-Newman-Lenz’s law in a dedicated lesson.
The outreach activity was complemented with a visit of the students to the laboratories of Department of Physics of University of Calabria. In particular, the students observed the diffraction pattern obtained when low-energy electrons (~100 eV) are reflected by metallic single crystals. Moreover, they assisted to a vibrational experiment on graphene. Members of the 2D Materials of the Department of Physics group discussed with the students about the significance of nanotechnology and its potential impact on daily life. Moreover, the key concepts of two-dimensional materials have been introduced with simple terms to the students.
At the end of the visit to the University of Calabria, a snack and some beverages were offered to students and teachers.
We thank the support of local schools and teachers for their kind collaboration. We also thank the students for their enthusiastic attendance to this activity.

Public outreach – “Blue Night”

Posted on 23/06/201623/08/2016 by YM Webmaster

The “Blaue Nacht” is a famous cultural event, during which representatives from science and art present their work to the broad public of the residents of Nuremberg. This year’s event motto being ” Truth”, our Young Mind section was asked to present experiments around optical illusions and related phenomena.
The Erlangen YM section together with the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) set up a large number of experiments in the inner yard of the “Bildungszentrum” of the city of Nuremberg. Experiments covering topics such as refraction, total internal reflection, polarization effects and visual perception attracted a continious stream of interested visitors of all ages and educational levels over the whole night.
Our evening program was complemented by short presentations given by researchers of the MPL and members of our Young Minds section, which allowed the visitors to gain insights in ongoing research projects at the MPL and current hot-topics in modern optical science. The huge interest and over 800 visitors made this event a great sucess for us, making both fundamental optical phenomena and current research accessible to the broad public.

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Meet the Light

Posted on 03/05/201603/05/2016 by YM Webmaster

Meet the Light is an activity where the main objective of different activities is to raise awareness of how light plays a central role in our lives, mainly among the general public. With these activities we want to present an accurate and engaging perspective on what light is really about and how it has influenced and improved our lives.

The Santiago de Compostela YM Section carried out the following activities within the frame of “Meet the Light” event:

Course “Introduction to photography” by Ángel Sánchez García. Place: Aula Magna Carlos Gómez Reino in the Faculty of Optics and Optometry, University of Santiago de Compsotela, Galicia, Spain.
Date: 4/12/2014
Lecture by professor Salvador Bará Viñas “WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BUY SOME GOOD BINOCULARS AND TELESCOPE”.
Place: Sala de Xuntas da Faculty de Física da USC, Santiago de Compostela.
Date: 11/12/2014
Photography workshop, by Ángel Sánchez García. Place: Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
Date: 8/05/2015
Workshop in astronomy, “A look into the sky”, by professor Salvador Bará Viñas.
Place: Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. Date: 25/05/2015

5th YM Meeting 2016

Posted on 30/04/201617/11/2016 by YM Webmaster

The 5th Young Minds Meeting took place at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) on 15th-16th July 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.
The European Physical Society, in collaboration with the Roland Eötvös Physical Society (ELFT) and the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ATOMKI), with the help of the Budapest and the Debrecen YM Section organized the annual YM meeting, aimed to bring together the representative of each YM Section.

This meeting is the opportunity to present their activities, and take part in the competition for the EPL Best YM Activity 2016. Invited speakers for the meeting were Dr. István Rajta (University of Debrecen), Dr. Csaba Böde (Morgan Stanley) and Prof. Imre Janosi (ELTE).

On epsnews you can find a resume of the event.

A Pirates’ World (Un mundo de piratas)

Posted on 30/04/201630/04/2016 by YM Webmaster

The main aim of A pirates’ world was to show physics to kids in a way they can enjoy.

This activity has been carried out at five different schools in Valladolid city and its surroundings:
– CEIP Ana de Austria (Cigales, Valladolid) on January 26th, 2016
– Colegio La Milagrosa y Santa Florentina (Valladolid) on January 26th, 2016
– CEIP Francisco Pino (Valladolid) on February 12th, 2016
– Colegio La Inmaculada M.S.J.O (Valladolid) on February 19th, 2016
– Colegio Virgen Niña (Valladolid) on April 22nd, 2016

The activity consisted of two different workshops of around 25 minutes long, which are carried out at the same time, and both set in a pirate’s ambience. Every group of kids was in the activity for around 50 minutes. We received 6 different groups at each school. The total audience of this activity was around 750 kids in the mentioned five elementary schools. The total length of this activity is around 2 hours.

The following concepts were dealt:

Parabolic motion. With a homemade cannon that allows three possible initial angles, it was shown that the maximum horizontal distance is reached for an angle of 45º.
Compass. The concept of magnetic field was introduced in an easy way, and the interaction with magnets was shown.
Optics. A homemade telescope was explained to the kids.
Density. This concept was explained through two different experiments. A ‘liquid tower’ was built using liquids with different densities (and colors): soap, water, oil, and alcohol. This tower was given as a present for each class. In the second experiment, ships made of play-doh helped to explain how ships can float. A solid sphere and a boat- shaped object were compared, even including more weight in the second.
Luminescence. It was explained that some natural materials could absorb light of some ’colour’ and emit light of a different ‘colour’.
Introduction to electricity phenomena occurring in boats (e.g., St. Elmo’s Fire) using a Van der Graaf generator.
Other experiments carried out were: invisibility under water (refractive index), fire and Leidenfrost effect; air vortex; among others.

The feedback given by the students and teachers was really good and this activity will continue to be offered to schools in the region and hopefully will be done other times this year.

Check this video activity on Youtube!

More photos on our Facebook album!