USU's Science Unwrapped Explores the Ångström Scale Friday, March 22

Born in Sweden in 1814, Anders Ångström was a physicist, solar astronomer and a pioneer in the field of spectroscopy. He was among the first scientists to identify hydrogen in the Sun’s atmosphere and to examine the spectrum of the Aurora Borealis. 

To express the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, Ångström used a unit of length equal to one hundred-millionth of a centimeter, which was later called “ångström” or “angstrom” in his honor.

“Ångström” is the topic for Utah State University’s Science Unwrapped program Friday, March 22, with featured speaker Sean Johnson, associate professor in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and associate dean in the College of Science.

“We’re going to examine the atomic world,” says Johnson, who specializes in structural biology and x-ray crystallography. “We’ll take a look ‘under the hood’ to investigate structures of this scale.”

The gathering begins at 7 p.m. in the Emert Auditorium, Room 130, of the Eccles Science Learning Center on USU’s Logan campus. Hosted by USU’s College of Science, admission to the public outreach event is free and all ages are welcome. Refreshments and hands-on learning activities conducted by USU students and faculty members, along with community groups, follow the talk, which is the sixth presentation of Science Unwrapped’s 10th anniversary “Powers of 10” series.

Initiated by the college in February 2009, Science Unwrapped introduces science in a relaxed, entertaining manner. Presentations begin with a brief lecture, followed by hands-on learning activities and refreshments. Each event draws several hundred guests, with attendees ranging from preschoolers to senior citizens.

For more information, call 435-797-3517, visit the Science Unwrapped website or view the ‘Science Unwrapped at USU’ Facebook page.