Fermilab pursues the most challenging problems in fundamental physics. A critical part of that adventure is to bring the knowledge, excitement and understanding to our communities. To that end, we share in the privilege and responsibility of reaching out to the broad Fermilab community, the local Illinois community, and students and public visitors from around the world. We are committed to help everyone understand the benefits of their investment in our work, and to share the wonder that we experience exploring the mysteries of our universe.
How Physics Works:
Physics builds the scientific model of how the world works—the “physical world”—and new tools to confront that model with reality. Technological progress depends on new physical knowledge and the new capabilities it brings.
Particle physics explores essential elements of the physical world: basic forms of quantum matter and energy, and their transformations in space and time. We have built and tested an extraordinarily successful “Standard Model” that explains all familiar forms of matter and energy and much more, but is still incomplete. Important behaviors of known particles, especially neutrinos, are not yet measured or understood. Exotic forms of cosmic matter and energy, not in the Standard Model, are known only by their gravity. Space-time itself displays a form of energy unlike all others, whose essential quantum character is still unknown. Future projects will develop new experimental tools to delve deeply into these mysteries and others.
Outreach Events involving CPC Scientists:
- Fermilab Saturday Morning Physics
- The Lifelong Learning Institute offers a set of public lectures oriented toward senior citizens
- AAAS Conferences, coordinated by Fermilab’s Lederman Science Center
- Talks to visiting high school students
- Annual Fermilab Physics Slam
- QuarkNet and other student research programs
- Contributions to Fermilab Today
- Contributions to public magazines and journals, like The Physics Teacher, Scientific American and Dark Energy Detectives
- Ask-A-Scientist (at FNAL)
- Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) events on Reddit and Twitter