The University of Chicago

Enrico Fermi Institute

Arthur H. Compton Lectures

Sixty-Fourth Series

"Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe:

Looking For Clues in Surprising Places"

By Brian Odom

Research Associate, Enrico Fermi Institute

Fellow, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics

There are many reasons to believe that physicists do not yet have a complete understanding of the laws of nature. In efforts to push our understanding forward, experimental physicists often look for clues in surprising places. We go deep underground to look for yet undiscovered particles believed to compose the bulk of the universe's mass. We study atoms caught in laboratory traps, hoping to understand the mysterious origins of matter in the big bang. We probe gravity at tiny distances in order to shed light on nature's strange behavior on the huge length scales of the universe.

In these lectures Dr. Brian Odom will describe experiments which search for answers to profound questions facing today's physicists. No scientific background is required. Just bring your curiosity.

LECTURE 1: From the Big Bang to TodayPuzzles Solved

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LECTURE 2: From the Big Bang to TodayPuzzles Unsolved

& Neutrino Relics from the Big Bang

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LECTURE 3: Mystery Leftovers (Dark Matter Big Bang Relics)

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LECTURE 4: The Search for Dark Matter

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LECTURE 5: Using the Fine Structure Constant to Push on the Standard Model

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LECTURE 6: Guest Lecturer Teri Odom, Northwestern University