TUESDAY, OCT. 17, 2000
RM 113 MacNAUGHTON BLDG.
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
4:00 p.m.

DR. ROBERT ORR

Department of Physics
University of Toronto
 

What is the Universe Made Of?

At first sight the Universe appears to be made of "matter"; and we have a fairly good understanding of this matter. The basic building blocks are quarks and leptons; and a rather well understood theory describes how these particles interact via the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces. However, there is evidence that this "matter" only constitutes 5% of the mass of the universe. Another 35% may consist of unobserved forms of matter, "dark matter". The remaining 60% of the mass of the Universe seems to be "dark energy"; energy associated with the vacuum, which may be causing the expansion of the Universe to accelerate. What we have so far observed and understood may actually be a rather minor aspect of the Universe. I will talk about some of these ideas, and describe experiments, which U of T people are involved in, which may actually produce the particles of "dark matter", and throw light on the origin of mass, and of the energy associated with the vacuum.

COFFEE WILL BE AVAILABLE PRIOR TO THE COLLOQUIUM