Michael Osterholm is an internationally recognized expert in infectious disease epidemiology. He is Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, all at the University of Minnesota. Look for his book “Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Deadly Germs” for more info.
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The world around us is made of atoms. Did you ever wonder where these atoms came from? How were the gold in our jewelry, the carbon in our bodies, and the iron in our cars made? In this lecture, we will trace the origin of a gold atom from the Big Bang to the present day, and beyond. You will learn how the elements were forged in the nuclear furnaces inside stars, and how, when they die, these massive stars spread the elements into space. You will learn about the origin of the building blocks of matter in the Big Bang, and we will speculate on the future of the atoms around us today.
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Physics of the HIGGS Mechanism and Particle Mass – Part 1 (of 6)
This video (the first in a series of six) gives an introduction to “Fields and Particles” and to some ideas relating to the Standard Model of Physics. The families of fermions and bosons are discussed, and how the latter relates to the forces in Standard Model via color charge, electric charge, and the weak charge. The masses of bosons are given, and compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (zero mass), giving rise to the need for some ‘extra’ explanation. All this is in preparation for the remaining videos in this series which aim to ‘explain’ how the various particles of the Standard Model obtain their mass.
In this video (Part 2 of 6), a simplified outline of the Lagrangian Method is discussed, and the suggestion made that it might later be applied to, and help us to understand, Quantum Fields. Scalar, Vector and Dirac fields are considered – along with field oscillations and the mass of any quantum excitation. There is a brief mention of Gauge Invariance. This, along with an earlier video (Part 1), is in preparation for the remaining videos in this series which aim to ‘explain’ how the various particles of the Standard Model obtain their mass.
This video (Part 3 of 6) deals with the application of the Lagrangian Method (discussed in Part 2) to Fields and, in particular, to a ‘Real’ Scalar Field. There is further discussion of field oscillations and particles, gauge invariance and the fact that the Standard Model predicts the mass of bosons to be zero. This, along with earlier videos (Parts 1 and 2), is in preparation for the remaining videos in this series which aim to ‘explain’ how the various particles of the Standard Model obtain their mass.
This video (Part 4 of 6) looks in a little more detail at the Lagrangian of a ‘Real’ Scalar Field, and in particular, takes the case with the ‘imaginary’ mass term. This leads to a discussion of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking, the Residual Higgs Field, and the oscillation of the field with real mass. It moves on to consider the Lagrangian of a ‘Complex’ Scalar Field, again with Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking, the Residual Higgs Field, oscillation with real mass BUT this time including a new ‘particle’ – a “Goldstone Boson”. This, along with earlier videos (Parts 1, 2 and 3), is in preparation for the remaining videos in this series which aim to ‘explain’ how the various particles of the Standard Model obtain their mass.
This video (Part 5 of 6) builds on the previous 4, and considers the Complex Doublet Scalar Field (Higgs Field) which, with Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking, produces not only the residual Higgs Field and an oscillation with real mass but also THREE Goldstone bosons. The differences between massive and massless particles are discussed in a little more detail (energy and degrees of freedom), and there is a qualitative discussion about how the three Goldstone bosons can give mass to some gauge bosons (W and Z). A mathematical ‘illustration’ is given of this process. This, along with earlier videos (Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4), leads on to the final video in this series (Part 6) which aims to ‘explain’ how the fermions of the Standard Model obtain their mass.
This final video (Part 6 of 6) builds on the previous 5 and considers how the presence of the residual Higgs Field might give mass to the fermions. It discusses left-handed fermions and the weak force, and the reason why (according to the Standard Model) fermion mass should be zero. Simple aspects of the Yukawa potential are introduced in order to ‘explain’ how a fermion traveling through the Higgs Field gains mass. Finally, and very briefly, various coupling constants are considered, along with the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012.
Speaker: Dr. Edward Murphy, University of Virginia Date: November 13, 2012
Hey guys! Peterson’s thought it would be a good idea to update everyone on what’s been going on with us. It’s been a terrible summer and it’s hopefully almost over. Here’s an update about what’s been going on with Dad and how Mom is feeling now. We still have a bit of a crisis to get through with Dad but at least Mom is out of the woodwork. We should be all recovered by Christmas I hope. Thanks for the continued support.
Peterson FamilyUpdate – February 2020
https://youtu.be/DTwEFa5NW2k
Jordan Update February 2020 Hi everyone, it’s been months since we’ve given an update on Jordan and my family’s health and it’s time for one so here goes. The last year has been extremely difficult for our family. Dad was put on a low dose of a benzodiazepine a few years ago for anxiety following an extremely severe autoimmune reaction to food. He took the medication as prescribed. Last April when my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the dose of the medication was increased. It became apparent that he was suffering from both a physical dependency and a paradoxical reaction to the medication. A paradoxical reaction means the drugs do the opposite of what they’re supposed to. These reactions are rare but are not unheard of. For the last 8 months, he’s been in unbearable discomfort from this drug, made worse when trying to remove it, because of the addition of withdrawal symptoms, stemming from physical dependence. He experienced terrible akathisia, which is a condition where the person feels an incredible, endless, irresistible restlessness, bordering on panic, and an inability to sit still. The reaction made him suicidal. After several failed treatment attempts in North American hospitals, including attempts at tapering and micro-tapering, we had to seek an emergency medical benzodiazepine detox, which we were only able to find in Russia. It was incredibly gruelling and was further complicated by severe pneumonia which we’ve been told he developed in one of the previous hospitals. He’s had to spend 4 weeks in the ICU in terrible shape, but, with the help of some extremely competent and courageous doctors, he survived. The decision to bring him to Russia was made in extreme desperation when we couldn’t find any better option. The uncertainty around his recovery has been one of the most difficult and scary experiences we’ve ever had. So: Finally Dad is on the mend, even though there’s a lot of physiological damage that he needs to recover from. He’s improving and is of the horrible medication. His sense of humour is back. He’s smiling again for the first time in months, but he still has a long way to go to recover fully. It appears that we are going to get through this by the skin of our teeth. So let me make a couple of things clear: Neither our family nor the doctors here believe that this is a case of psychological addiction. Benzodiazepine physical dependence due to brain changes can occur in a matter of weeks. It can be made even worse by paradoxical reactions that are difficult to diagnose and can be extremely dangerous. We’ve been told and hope that Dad will recover fully but it will take time and he still has a ways to go. We are extremely lucky and grateful that he’s alive. The next update will come from him directly. Thanks again for all the support.
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