The Quantum Revolution | Osher Lifelong Learning Institute | University of Miami

The Quantum Revolution

OSH 820 / Non Credit
Course taught in: English
Locations: TBA
Instructor: Mark Egdall

Course Description

Ever been in two places at once? Can you travel backwards in time? Come explore the strange mysteries of the quantum world. Learn about quarks, leptons, and quantum tunneling. Develop a new way of seeing the universe through this mind-boggling presentation on our submicroscopic world. No prior physics training required. 

Week 1

Welcome and Overview –What are quarks? What are leptons? These fundamental particles combine to make all known matter in our universe. Learn how these particles tell the story of creation itself in the Big Bang.

Week 2

The Four Forces and Antiparticles–We will look at the four forces that hold everything in the universe together. Is antimatter traveling backwards in time?

Week 3

The Quantum Revolution–We discuss the Uncertainty Principle and its amazing implications. Do particles really appear spontaneously out of “empty” space?

Week 4

The Famous Double-Slit Experiment –Is light a particle or a wave? Or both? Are electrons both too?

Week 5

Let There Be Light –Learn about the strange behavior of light from Richard Feynman’s wonderful lectures. Does quantum mechanics imply parallel universes?

Week 6

Let There Be Light (Continued) –Feynman explains light reflecting off a mirror and how eyeglass lenses work in terms of strange yet simple quantum rules.

Mr. Mark Egdall retired to South Florida several years ago after a thirty-five year engineering and management career. He has been teaching at other South Florida lifelong learning programs since 2006 and at OLLI @ UM since 2010.

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