PHYSICS FOR POETS: The center now offers a public lecture series. Courtesy Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Ever wondered what goes on in that 2-mile-long building that passes underneath Highway 280? The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center has inaugurated a public lecture series on the last Tuesday of every other month. Cars backed up along Sand Hill Road for the first installment, “All About SLAC: What Goes On in the World’s Longest Building?” Upcoming free, one-hour talks include “Our Lopsided Universe: The Matter with Anti-Matter,” “Metal, Molecules, Life and Death,” “Particle Astrophysics” and “Magnetism and X-Rays: From the Compass to Modern Technology.”

SLAC Public Lecture Series