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Gravity is paradoxical. Although it’s the weakest of Nature’s fundamental force quartet, its influence spans and sculpts the entire Cosmos. Ironically, gravity is simultaneously the most familiar yet least understood force, despite our constant terrestrial experience. Dr. Stamatikos will discuss how our understanding of gravity has evolved from antiquity with philosophical arguments of Aristotle, through the birth of modern science, as heralded by the novel experiments of Galileo, to the theoretical synthesis of Isaac Newton, which extended gravity’s jurisdiction to include the celestial motion of the Moon and planets within our Solar System. Over a century ago, Albert Einstein proposed an alternative theory of gravity (General Relativity), which predicted the recent discovery of gravitational waves and the existence of black holes. How can gravity’s effect on galactic and intergalactic scales observationally lead to the modern enigmas of “dark matter” and “dark energy”? Dr. Stamatikos will make connections to his own NASA-based astrophysical research on Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and speculate on their discovery potential in the new era of multi- messenger astronomy. Dr. Michael Stamatikos, Assistant Professor Department of Physics, Department of Astronomy & Center for Cosmology & AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP) The Ohio State University (OSU) at Newark Wednesday, August 16 • SAMC 106 Public Demonstrations and Lecture 8:30-10:00: Physics teachers from around the state will perform their best demonstrations for the public! Come experience the wonder of physics! 10:30-12:00: Public talk - Gravity: From Newton to Einstein & Beyond! Gravity: From Newton to Einstein & Beyond!
