2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of quantum mechanics, and the United Nations has designated this year as the “International Year of Quantum Science,” with celebrations taking place across the global scientific community.
In response to this milestone, the Center of Astronomy and Gravitation and the Department of Physics at National Taiwan Normal University have jointly organized the Popular Science Lecture Series on Particle Physics and Cosmology, inviting leading scholars to deliver accessible talks on the latest scientific developments and guide the public in exploring the fundamental mysteries of the universe.
The first lecture was held on April 18, featuring Professor Chung-Wen Kao from the Department of Physics at Chung Yuan Christian University. Under the theme “There is Great Beauty in Heaven and Earth, and Principles in All Things,” Professor Kao reviewed the historical development of particle physics, from 19th-century discoveries about the structure of matter to the establishment of the Standard Model in the 20th century. He emphasized that the ultimate goal of modern particle physics is to unify the four fundamental forces of nature, noting that the unification of electromagnetism and the weak force has already been achieved, and future research will continue to reveal the deeper nature of the universe.
The lecture series is organized by Dr. Ya-Lin Wu from the Department of Physics, with upcoming sessions set to explore topics such as the Higgs field.
All lectures are free and open to the public. Faculty, students, and members of the community are warmly invited to attend.
(Source: Dr. Ya-Lin Wu, Department of Physics / Edited by: Shih-Tse Hu)
Professor Chung-Wen Kao vividly introduced quarks, leptons, and gauge vector bosons.
The beauty of heaven and earth reveals the principles of all things; the photo features a calligraphy piece by physicist Hideki Yukawa.