Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month [except this month- see below] at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm and typically speak for 60-90 minutes including Q&A, with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month [except this month- see below] at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm and typically speak for 60-90 minutes including Q&A, with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Next up: Monday, January 13, 2025 at 6:30 pm
Light, Color, and Pretty Rocks
Jim Profitt, Senior Staff Scientist (retired), Siemens Medical Diagnostics
Summary: Our interest in rocks and minerals has many causes, but appearance is one which must have been recognized by the earliest of humans. What has happened to light as it bounced off, or went through that lovely specimen our lucky foot kicked up? The variety of color within and between rock types is rooted in physical structure, physics, and chemistry, but we can get a good feeling for why light behaves the way it does with a little science. So we’ll look at the basics of the dance of energy between light’s photons and an atom’s circulating electrons (no math), why this causes color, and also explain why we can even see the color of pretty rocks.
Jim retired from Siemens Medical Diagnostics at the Senior Staff Scientist level about 11 years ago. He received a BS in Chemistry from Miami University (Ohio), and an MS in Organic Chemistry from CU, Boulder, started chemistry work as a medicinal chemist and moved into medical diagnostics, spending a lot of time working with light and color. Over the decades he was named inventor on dozens of US patents. He still works on invention, just because he cannot stop, using SolidWorks for 3D design and a combination of laser cutting and 3D printing to work out ideas. Recently, he has started oil painting as part of a return to art interests.
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