Institute for Theoretical Physics
ITFA, the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Universiteit van Amsterdam, is part of the Faculty of Science. On this web site you will find a summary of the research done at this institute, recent preprints, addresses and phone numbers of students and staff members, information for students at the institute and those interested in becoming a student here, and information on seminars, workshops, conferences and other events organised or participated in by us. Please use the links to the left of the page to find your way around.
News
GRAPPA
The center for Gravitation and AstroParticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA), which represents one of the priority areas (onderzoekszwaartepunten) of the science faculty of the Universiteit van Amsterdam, is organizing a series of afternoon meetings centered around one particular subject each.
The first meeting in this series will take place on Wednesday, February 3rd, from 14.00-17.00 hours, in room Z011 at NIKHEF. The theme of this first meeting is "the Cosmic Microwave Background", and the program is as follows:
- 14.00-14.30 coffee
- 14.30-14.35 opening
- 14.35-15.20 B. Wandelt ((University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign/APC-Paris)
- 15.20-15.50 D. Meerburg (API/ITFA, Amsterdam) 15.50-16.00 discussion
- 16.00-16.15 R. Wijers (API, Amsterdam)
- 16.15-17.00 drinks
For more information about GRAPPA, including the possibility to sign up for a mailing list, please go to the website
Erik Verlinde on the Origin of Gravity
Erik Verlinde has published a paper on the origin of gravity and the laws of Newton. He argues that gravity emerges as an entropic force, caused by changes in the information associated with the positions of material bodies.
More information:
Book: Keerpunten
Sander Bais has presented his third book on November 10th: Keerpunten. In this engaging, lyrical book, physicist Sander Bais shows how science can liberate us from our cultural straitjacket of prejudice and intolerance. We are living in a time in which technology is taken for granted, yet belief in such standard scientific facts as evolution is actually decreasing. How is it possible for cell phones and Creationism to coexist?