Screening + Discussion: Atom part (3/3) - The Illusion of Reality

Greetings Fellow Cosmonauts!

In keeping with our theme of nuclear energy/physics, we will be continuing our screening + discussion of the 3-part BBC4 series "Atom." This week we will be watching episode (3/3): "The Illusion of Reality."

This series features our old pal Jim Al-Khalili who, as it turns out, is a professor of theoretical nuclear physics. We will be guided through the history of nuclear and atomic physics, beginning with discovery that all matter is made of atoms, and moving on to discuss how this breakthrough lead to our ability to harness the amazing amounts of energy released when these tiny particles are split apart. He ends by reflecting on how this simple discover spawned several different branches of modern science and resulted in some very strange implications in the fields of quantum mechanics and cosmology.

A description of episode 3 is below:

The Illusion of Reality (59 min)

"The final part of Professor Jim Al-Khalili's documentary series about the basic building block of our universe, the atom.

Al-Khalili explores how studying the atom forced us to rethink the nature of reality itself, encountering ideas that seem like they are from science fiction but in fact are a central part of modern science. He discovers that there might be parallel universes in which different versions of us exist and finds out that empty space is not empty at all, but seething with activity.

The world we think we know - the solid, reassuring world of our senses - turns out to be a tiny sliver of an infinitely weirder and more wonderful universe than we had ever conceived in our wildest fantasies."

Don't worry if you missed parts 1-2 or if you don't know anything about nuclear physics (neither do I!). They do a pretty good job in this series of making each episode its own stand-alone feature, so no special background knowledge is required.

Now for some administrative details....

The space will be open for beverages and general schmoozing as early as 7:45PM. The viewing will start promptly at 8:25PM.

As usual, BYOB. +1's welcome (& encouraged!). Oh, and this is a pet friendly space. My dog is kind of an asshole, so I keep her at home, but if your pet is chill, feel free to bring 'em along!

There is a suggested donation of $2 which helps pay for the venue at Industry Lab. You can donate through the following methods:

Venmo: @reece-daniel

Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/reecedaniel

Cash: donation cup at event

You can also donate through meetup.com, but they take a 17% cut!!

Looking forward to seeing everyone Wednesday!

Regards,

Reece
Curator, Church of the Cosmos