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A List
4/3/06
'BLUE MOON' TOPIC FOR SLU'S ROMER LECTURE APRIL 13
CANTON - "The Blue Moon, Einstein and Mie" is the title of the 2006 Alfred Romer
Lecture at St. Lawrence University, to be given Thursday, April 13, at 8 p.m. in the
auditorium of Hepburn Hall, Room 218, by Michael A. Paesler, professor of physics at
North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The event is open to the public, free of
charge.
Paesler states, "The blueness of the sky and the redness of the setting or
rising sun or moon are described by an effect known as Rayleigh scattering.
On the other hand, under certain atmospheric conditions, the sun or moon may
take on a decidedly blue hue. This effect is so rare that it has led to the
expression 'once in a blue moon.' The cause of the blue moon lies in an optical
effect called Mie scattering. To understand the conditions that would result in
Mie scattering (rather than the more common Rayleigh scattering) one must consider
the movement of dust in the air. In one of his important papers in the pivotal
year of 1905, Einstein developed the theory of Brownian motion that describes
just such movement. His work thus leads one to an explanation of the blue moon.
In this talk, I'll discuss these developments and will demonstrate just how Mie
scattering turns the moon blue."
After obtaining his bachelor's degree at Beloit College, Paesler earned a master's
degree and the Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. Following one year as a guest
scientist at the Max-Planck-Institut für Feskörperforschung in Stuttgart, Germany,
he taught at Harvard University, through 1979. Thereafter, he joined the physics
department at North Carolina State, becoming a full professor in 1990. Since 1997,
Paesler has served as the physics department director of graduate programs and he
has been a guest professor at a number of institutions.
The Romer Lecture was established to honor the late Emeritus Professor of Physics
Alfred Romer, who had been associated with St. Lawrence for over 50 years.
For more information, contact the physics department at 315-229-5491.
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For more information: Science at St. Lawrence
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