The Department of Physics and Astronomy invites all to a colloquium featuring Dr. Russell J. Hemley, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington. Dr. Hemley will present his talk, “New Findings in Materials in Extreme Environments”, Tuesday, October 11, at 4:10 p.m. in Webster 17.
Meet for refreshments before the lecture at 3:45 – 4:10 p.m. in the foyer on floor G above the lecture hall.
Abstract: Extreme pressures and temperatures produce profound effects on structure, bonding and electronic character of atoms and molecules, molding matter to make new materials. A growing number of novel materials and phenomena are being documented over the broad range of conditions, including both static and dynamic multimegabar (e.g., >300 GPa) pressures that can now be generated in the laboratory. Examples include unexpected transitions between insulating and metallic phases, new superconductors and low-dimensional materials, and novel structural and superhard materials. Of particular interest have been pressure-induced transitions in the putatively simple systems hydrogen and water. Altogether, these studies have implications for problems in physics and chemistry, planetary science, geoscience, astrophysics, and even soft matter and biology, and the new materials being discovered may find potential applications in energy and other technologies. In this effort, experimental facilities such as accelerator-based x-ray, infrared, neutron scattering, and large laser sources are allowing new types of measurements to be made as well as much more extreme environments to be reached in the laboratory.
