Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 47 minutes ago
Math Encounters December 6, 2023
"Explosive Data: the math of measuring fiery hot and lightning fast detonations" featuring Aaron Luttman
Explosions are extreme environments, where the temperatures can get so hot that a thermometer would instantly melt and the debris would blast so fast that few cameras would even see it. To understand the science of explosions, however, temperature and particle velocity are essential information, so we have to come up with clever, indirect ways to measure these quantities. In this interactive discussion, we will explore how mathematical modeling allows us to design systems for measuring temperature, from the cold outside to the heat of your oven to the extreme temperatures in an explosion, and for measuring speed, from the radar gun that catches your car speeding up to advanced laser systems for measuring the speed of blast debris. Join Aaron Luttman, Senior Technical Advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, for an explosively engaging evening of math and modeling.
Special introduction by Tim Chartier, Professor of Mathematics, Davidson College, and MoMath 2022-2023 Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics.
Math Encounters is MoMath's popular free public presentation series celebrating the spectacular world of mathematics, produced with support from Simons Foundation International.
Math Encounters December 6, 2023
"Explosive Data: the math of measuring fiery hot and lightning fast detonations" featuring Aaron Luttman
Explosions are extreme environments, where the temperatures can get so hot that a thermometer would instantly melt and the debris would blast so fast that few cameras would even see it. To understand the science of explosions, however, temperature and particle velocity are essential information, so we have to come up with clever, indirect ways to measure these quantities. In this interactive discussion, we will explore how mathematical modeling allows us to design systems for measuring temperature, from the cold outside to the heat of your oven to the extreme temperatures in an explosion, and for measuring speed, from the radar gun that catches your car speeding up to advanced laser systems for measuring the speed of blast debris. Join Aaron Luttman, Senior Technical Advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, for an explosively engaging evening of math and modeling.
Special introduction by Tim Chartier, Professor of Mathematics, Davidson College, and MoMath 2022-2023 Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics.
Math Encounters is MoMath's popular free public presentation series celebrating the spectacular world of mathematics, produced with support from Simons Foundation International.
