"How Cold Can Cold Be?" to Be Subject of Talk

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- "Baby, it's cold outside" takes on a new dimension in an environment that is even colder than outer space. It may sound inhospitable, but for the past 100 years, some physicists -- driven by the desire to observe new phenomena -- have made such low temperatures the focus of their work.

One such scientist, Francis M. Gasparini, Ph.D., professor of physics at UB, will discuss "The Saga of Low Temperature Physics: A Quest for the Absolute Zero" at a talk to begin at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27, in Room 215 of the Natural Sciences Complex on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

A tour of UB's low-temperature research facility will follow the talk.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is part of the UB Sciences Alumni Association lecture series.

According to Gasparini, the discovery that began 100 years ago with the cooling of helium gas until it became a liquid initiated a great revolution in physics.

Gasparini will explain how the drive for absolute zero is motivated by the desire to observe new phenomena -- such as superconductivity and superfluidity -- that only can be viewed at these temperatures.

In addition, at absolute zero, the disordering influence of temperature on materials is eliminated.

Gasparini also will discuss how the initial observations of these phenomena eventually paved the way for the acceptance of a new physics -- quantum mechanics.

The Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics comprises the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Mathematics and Physics.

For more information, contact Cindy Nydahl at 645-2531.