Author Archives: DaveT

4th July 2011 – Camouflage: How it Works and Why

Posted on July 4, 2011 by DaveT

There has to be a signal, a receiver and, very importantly, a processor. This aspect will be explored using the story of the Peppered Moth. How did camouflage evolve and how do complicated patterns it sometimes needs get created? Professor … Continue reading →

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6th June 2011 – The Structure of the Vacuum

Posted on June 6, 2011 by DaveT

Professor Simone Marzani of Manchester University will lead our discussion of the vacuum structure. Is it really “nothing at all” or is it stuffed with interesting things designed to appear to be nothing – mostly? This session originated from our … Continue reading →

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9th May 2011 – Computers and the Brain

Posted on May 9, 2011 by DaveT

How is it that we find some things very difficult which computers find ever so easy AND VERY MUCH VICE VERSA? How can we improve our computers and our knowledge of how our brain functions? Professor Steve Furber will lead … Continue reading →

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4th April 2011 – Einstein’s Last Legacy: Detecting Wrinkles in Space-Time

Posted on April 4, 2011 by DaveT

Associate Professor Andrea Lommen of Franklin & Marshall College and Dr Ben Stappers of Jodrell Bank study millisecond pulsars. These are dead stars with about the mass of our sun, collapsed down to about the size of Knutsford (10km across), … Continue reading →

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7th March 2011- Neutrinos

Posted on March 7, 2011 by DaveT

Dr Marieke Navin, from MOSI Manchester, recently participated in the refurbishment of a huge neutrino detector called Super Kamiokande beneath the Japanese Alps. She says “The detector is a cylinder 40m diameter and 40m tall holding 40,000 tonnes of ultra-pure … Continue reading →

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7th February 2011 – Cosmic Rays

Posted on February 7, 2011 by DaveT

Professor Tony Bell from Oxford University led our discussion on cosmic rays. These are the highest energy particles in the universe. Their energies reach about ten million times that of particles accelerated at CERN. Mainly protons, one single particle can … Continue reading →

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