
The Forces of Nature
Can everything that happens in the universe be explained in terms of just three forces? Particle Physicist Brian Cox talks us through the history of our scientific understanding, revealing why scientists have come to believe this. Brian explores the ....
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The Hunt for the Higgs
Particle physicist Brian Cox explains how quantum mechanics has changed the way that we think the world works and why it predicts the existence of a particle that has never been seen. The Higgs boson is a mysterious particle that explains why things ....
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Giant Fullerenes
C-60, the football caged molecule is the head of a family of carbon based structures called the Fullerenes. In this presentation we ook at the larger structures, the giant fullerenes and among other things we will explore the 60n2 rule us....
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Electron Waves Unveil The Microcosmos
Since the time of Faraday lines of force in space have been 'observed' by sprinkling iron filings around magnet. The lecturer explains how, with modern techniques we can 'see' lines of force inside a solid magnet. The studies reveal a fascinating dyn....
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Nuclear Power Plant Safety – What’s the Problem?
A significant proportion of our electricity is generated by thermonuclear reactions. The dangers attached to these processes and the radioactive products are well known and publicised. Much less well known are the measures taken to ensure that the hi....
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Science and Fine Art
David Bomford is Senior Restorer of Paintings at the National Gallery, London. There is a long tradition of applying scientific techniques to the study of works of art. This discourse reviews past and present approaches and shows that these advan....
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Tick, Tick Pulsating Star: How we wonder what you are?
The discovery of pulsars, neutron stars which form when massive stars explode (supernovae), took astronomers by surprise. Their discovery is described and the way in which these bizarre objects have led to an understanding of matter under extreme con....
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Self-Assembly: Nature’s way to do it
Biology operates at two levels: the large scale which we can see and the underlying microscopic one. The amazing way in which intermolecular forces cause protein arrays to self-assemble, enabling Nature to fabricate the large scale components of livi....
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Nanotubes: The Materials of the 21st Century
Carbon nanotubes, some 1000 times smaller than conventional carbon fibers, have tensile strengths 100x that of steel and conduct electricity like metals. They promise a revolution in structural and electrical engineering.
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The Epidemic of Mad Cow Disease (BSE) in the UK
Roy discusses the disturbing events of the then (1997) recent history of the BSE epidemic and some of the crucial mistakes which contributed to the epidemic are highlighted.
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MRI – A window on the human body
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a powerful means of not only distinguishing between different types of tissue but also of identifying whether the tissues are normal or diseased.
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Nuts and Bolts of the Mind
Susan Greenfield conducts us on an exhilarating tour of brain. A brief fascinating historical introduction is followed by a discussion on our present, admittedly limited, understanding of this amazing organ. Members of the group handle (and dissect) ....
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