Lecture Night Reveals the Physics of Angels & Demons

The particle physics community is taking a walk down the red carpet. This month Sony Pictures Entertainment released, "Angels & Demons", a motion picture based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel. Starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard, the film focuses on an apparent plot to destroy the Vatican using antimatter made at the Large Hadron Collider and stolen from the European particle physics laboratory CERN.

Through a series of public lectures, scientists are using this opportunity to tell the public about the real science of antimatter, the Large Hadron Collider and details of particle physics research. Across the United States and Canada, scientists from more than 30 colleges, universities and national laboratories will host public lectures as part of the event.  

Miguel Mostafa, professor of physics at Colorado State University and an expert on ultra high energy cosmic rays, will present "Angels & Demons: The Science Revealed" on Thursday, May 28 in the Columbine Room at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center. An informal reception will begin at 5 p.m., with the 40-minute lecture starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by a question and answer session.

"Our high-energy group here at CSU participates in the construction of some of the most technologically advanced experiments, including advanced particle detectors, and facilities for the production of exotic forms of matter, including antimatter," said Mostafa. "Our business is fundamental physics, finding out what the universe is made of and how it works. To understand the basic ingredients and the big cosmic picture, we are also studying the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. These are the most energetic and rarest of particles in the universe."

For more information about the series, including a list of lectures and local contacts, visit www.uslhc.us/Angels_Demons or contact Kelly Kimple at Kelly.Kimple@colostate.edu or (970) 491-5506.  

Worldwide, scientists working on experiments at the Large Hadron Collider will host lectures and other "Angels & Demons"-related events for press and the public. Lectures are planned at particle physics institutions across Europe, Asia, Central and South America. For more information on the Large Hadron Collider, visit CERN’s website at www.cern.ch.

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