Professor Alan Davies celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Maths Masterclasses at the Royal Institution. Broadcast on 6 January 1979, Professor Christopher Zeeman presented the sixth and final Christmas lecture in the series entitled Maths into pictures. The lectures were a phenomenal success and led to the development of a series of masterclasses for young people taking place at the Ri. Professor John Crank chaired the development committee and the first series was planned and went ahead in January 1981 with lectures given by Christopher Zeeman, John Crank and Dr Shaun Wylie. It could not have been known to those three just what they had started; new groups formed outside the Ri and the number of series has steadily increased across the country to about sixty secondary and forty primary groups in 2010. Only available as podcast. So, what is the secret of the success, how have masterclasses developed over the years and what has been their impact? Alan Davies will address these and other questions during this Friday Evening Discourse. In particular, in the spirit of the masterclasses, he will take a variety of topics presented by different lecturers and illustrate how some quite advanced mathematical ideas can be presented to a young audience.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is the most powerful particle collider ever built and has been described as the world's biggest science experiment. Designed to answer the unknowns in particle physics, including the reason for so little antimatter in the universe and the exact locations of dark matter and the missing Higgs particle, the LHC is capable of recreating the conditions that were in existence one fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Tara takes the stage at The Royal Institution to reveal what has been discovered at the LHC since its first year of operation.
Professor Chris Bishop, presenter of the 2008 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, gives a family lecture on the history of the modern firework. Through demonstrations of pyrotechnic chemistry hear how Chinese incendiaries made from honey led to the development of gunpowder; discover how the loud bangs of fireworks are routed in the origins of photography; and find out how an accident in a nineteenth-century kitchen sparked a new chemistry for firework making.
Are we moving increasingly closer towards a benevolent society? Steven Pinker talks about his latest work, 'The Better Angels of our Nature’.
Professor Chris Bishop, presenter of the 2008 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, leads us through a spectacular tour of the curious, and sometimes surprising, world of chemistry.
Your brain may look like a big walnut, but it has the ability to create an almost unlimited stream of images, thoughts, memories and dreams. Undoubtedly the most complex material in the universe, and yet it's just a collection of simple cells. Join Bruce Hood as he gets under your skull and takes a peek inside. What do brainwaves look like? How fast is a neuron? Why does your brain create its own version of reality? Bruce uses technology to measure brain activity and follow eye movement, build a virtual brain out of audience volunteers and play some guessing games with your mind. In the process, he shows how everything you perceive is just an interpretation of the nerve impulses that your brain receives – which isn't really that much.
Who's in control – you or your brain? Your conscious thoughts are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the activity going on inside your head. Every minute your brain is bombarded with information – sights, sounds, smells, feelings – and you are aware of only a tiny fraction of it. How does your brain decide what to trust and what to ignore, all without you even knowing? What sneaky shortcuts does it take to speed up your mental ability? Why is multi-tasking so dangerous? Using some surprising illusions and lots of audience participation, Bruce Hood makes you say the wrong thing and fail to see what's right in front of you. Can you really believe your eyes? Possibly not!
Have you ever seen a face in a piece of burnt toast? Why are our brains so obsessed with people-patterns? It's not just other humans either, your brain likes to give a personality to anything that shows a hint of character; whether it's your teddy bear, your pet fish or even your car. Yet there are elements of being human that prove virtually impossible to recreate artificially. Can a robot ever fall in love? With sensors to measure our response to some revealing live demonstrations, Bruce Hood looks at what makes the human brain so special and how it is built to read other people's minds. Why do you feel pain when somebody else gets hurt? What attracts you to another person? Are your eyes a window to your soul?
Professor Jon Butterworth, member of the High Energy Physics group on the Atlas experiment, provides an overview of his work at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Will consciousness ever be explained by neuroscientists? What is the latest philosophical and scientific thinking in explaining how the wet stuff in our heads creates the world we experience? An expert panel consisting of Dr Anil Seth, Professor Barry Smith and Professor Chris Frith discuss these questions and more. Consists out of two parts; part one being 'Presentations' and part two being 'Discussion'.
Scientists and journalists need different things from science. In part one, Ananyo Bhattacharya, Chief Online Editor at Nature, Chris Chambers, from Cardiff University's School of Psychology, science writer Ed Yong, and Head of the UK's Science Media Centre, Fiona Fox, present their views on what scientists and journalists need from each other. In part two, Chair Dr Alice Bell opens the floor to questions from the audience and leads an impassioned debate on how scientists and journlists can better understand each other. Consists out of two parts; part one being 'Presentations' and part two being 'Discussion'.
Consists out of three parts. In part one philosopher of physics David Wallace guides us the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the mind-bending claims it makes about our reality. In part two Sir Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter discuss their new series of novels entitled The Long Earth. In part three the audience gets to ask the panel questions.
Distinguished Scientist, Ri Vice President and explosives expert Chris Bishop presents another action-packed demonstration lecture. Following on from his explorations of Chemistry and the world of Fireworks, Professor Bishop turns his attention to the use, origins and properties of explosives.
Take a deep breath. Inside your lungs is a mixture of highly reactive and incredibly stable gases. Oxygen is the most reactive constituent. When we eat it's these O2 molecules that seize electrons from our food to give our bodies the energy to live. Add a third oxygen atom and we make ozone, a gas so reactive that it's toxic if we breathe it in, but high up in the stratosphere this gas protects us from the sun's radiation. Add a carbon atom and we produce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas responsible for warming the planet. Nitrogen, the most common element in air, is an unreactive gas, but a key atom in every cell in every living thing on Earth. How can we imitate nature to bring this suffocating gas alive? Even less reactive are the Noble or inert gases. They're so stable they are the only elements that exist naturally as individual atoms – but what is it about them that make them so inert? And how can we excite these gases enough to join the chemical party? We've come a long way from the days when alchemists thought the air was a single element, as we unravel the puzzle of how and why these compounds of oxygen hold the key to the viability of life on the planet.
Water is essential to life since every reaction in our bodies takes place in it. But why is water so special? And can we tap into the energy released when a lit splint is added to a mix of hydrogen and water, to create an environmentally friendly solution to our energy problems? Plants have the ability to reverse this reaction by using the energy from sunlight to release oxygen from water. We are starting to learn how to do the same. We also look at the salts contained in water. Once again we will see the startling difference between a compound and its constituent elements. Take sodium chloride – aka table salt. Sodium is a soft silvery metal that explodes with water; chlorine a deadly poisonous, choking green gas. Both elements are lethal to us, but after they have met, a dramatic change takes place. The sodium and chloride ions that form are essential components in our bodies. They help generate the electrical impulses that make our brains and nerves work.
The alchemists thought that metals literally grew in the rocks, deep in the bowels of the Earth. They dreamed of replicating these natural processes turning 'base metals' into gold. Today, the extraction of minerals and metals from rocks has made fortunes, but not quite in the way the alchemists imagined. We now know many rocks are the result of oxygen combining with different elements – each with individual properties. Breaking the strong bonds between oxygen and these elements has always been a challenge. Humankind learned how to release copper in the Bronze Age, and iron in the Iron Age, through smelting. Now we can extract even more exotic materials. By understanding the properties of materials, such as the silicon present in computers, or the rare earth magnets generating our electricity in wind turbines, we are entering a new era of chemistry in which we can engineer electrons in new configurations for future technologies. We can now put together the unique cluster of protons, neutrons and electrons that form each of the 80 elements in exciting new ways. If the ancient alchemists were alive today they'd be dazzled by the wonders created by the modern alchemist.
It was the universe's most elusive particle, the linchpin for everything scientists dreamed up to explain how stuff works. It had to be found. But projects as big as CERN's Large Hadron Collider don't happen without dealing and conniving, incredible risks and occasional skullduggery. Award-winning physicist and science popularizer Sean Carroll reveals the history-making forces of insight, rivalry, and wonder that fuelled the Higgs search and how its discovery opens a door into the mind-boggling domain of dark matter and other phenomena we never predicted.
Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores how the mysteries of quantum theory might be observable at the biological level. Although many examples can be found in the scientific literature dating back half a century, there is still no widespread acceptance that quantum mechanics -- that baffling yet powerful theory of the subatomic world -- might play an important role in biological processes. Biology is, at its most basic, chemistry, and chemistry is built on the rules of quantum mechanics in the way atoms and molecules behave and fit together. As Jim explains, biologists have until recently been dismissive of counter-intuitive aspects of the theory and feel it to be unnecessary, preferring their traditional ball-and-stick models of the molecular structures of life. Likewise, physicists have been reluctant to venture into the messy and complex world of the living cell - why should they when they can test their theories far more cleanly in the controlled environment of the physics lab? But now, experimental techniques in biology have become so sophisticated that the time is ripe for testing ideas familiar to quantum physicists. Can quantum phenomena in the subatomic world impact the biological level and be present in living cells or processes - from the way proteins fold or genes mutate and the way plants harness light in photosynthesis to the way some birds navigate using the Earth's magnetic field? All appear to utilise what Jim terms "the weirdness of the quantum world". The discourse explores multiple theories of quantum mechanics, from superposition to quantum tunnelling, and reveals why "the most powerful theory in the whole of science" remains incredibly mysterious. Plus, watch out for a fantastic explanation of the famous double slit experiment.
Psychologists, marketers and neuroscientists have learned a lot about the subtleties of persuasion. With the help of a panel including experts in scientific ethics, rhetoric, psychology and more, Helen Czerski and Marcus Brigstocke will debate what scientists should know about the dark arts of persuasion, and whether they should ever use them.
Materials are a defining characteristic of society. The ages of civilization are named after materials and the development of new materials do more than simple transform technology: they change behaviour and shape the urban landscape, from our cities and our hospitals, to our homes and our art. Professor Mark Miodownik introduces us to the innovations that are shaping a new materials age, one that blurs the fundamental distinction between living and non-living things and challenges the very notion of material itself. From ferrofluid to the revolution that is 3D printing, Mark points to the materials and innovations that will shape our future. Just as bionic limbs and synthetic organs are becoming the norm so our man-made environment is also changing to become more lifelike. Are living buildings and objects that heal-themselves are on the horizon?
Dr Helen Mason explores what causes solar activity and what we are learning about the Sun from space observations in the ultraviolet and X-ray wavelength ranges.
Rare earth elements - the 14 or so elements with romantic names such as neodymium, gadolinium and dysprosium - have been very much in the news over the past five years. Their niche uses in electronics and in the renewable energy industry make them indispensable to today's society. Yet most people know nothing about them or why they have become so controversial. Andrea Sella gives an introduction to the lanthanide elements and considers the features which made them a maddening puzzle for the chemists of the 19th century, how they are a key example of turning swords into ploughshares, and their role in bringing these very words to your computer screen. With growing concern that the world may soon face a shortage of the rare earths Andrea also considers the political and economic ramifications of their distribution and technology.
Professor Richard Dawkins discusses the influences and inspirations that have shaped his life and thinking. Chatting to science broadcaster Adam Rutherford in the world-famous Ri Lecture Theatre, the pioneering scientist and public thinker reveals how he developed an "appetite for wonder" for the biological sciences. From his upbringing in Nairobi and Nyasaland (now Malawi) to his early experiences with religion, Dawkins talks about his motivations for becoming a scientist and his experiences at Oxford University and Berkeley, California during a period of social and political unrest. Find out how he arrived at the idea of the "selfish gene" -- the basis of his seminal 1976 publication, one of the best-selling popular science books ever written -- and discover more about his research and writing process.
Sir Roger Penrose provides a unique insight into the "forbidden symmetry" of his famous penrose tiles and the use of non-repeating patterns in design and architecture. Penrose reveals the mathematical underpinnings and origins of these "forbidden symmetries" and other related patterns. His talk is illustrated with numerous examples of their use in architectural design including a novel version of "Penrose tiling" that appears in the approach to the main entrance of the new Mathematics Institute in Oxford, officially opened in late 2013.
Policy committees and think-tanks usually feature economists, but it's rare that they turn to psychologists. Should their research be taken more seriously? And how would a society look where psychological research contributed to evidence-based policy? Claudia Hammond chairs an expert panel discussion. This lecture is only available as podcast.
The number of female politicians in Britain is decreasing, teenage girls are suffering increased violence from boyfriends, and the pay gap between men and women over the age of 30 shows no sign of equalising. Some claim that inequality and sexism are on the increase. But where does sexism come from? Claudia Hammond chairs an expert panel discussion. This lecture is only available as podcast.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Jared Diamond takes you on an epic journey into our rapidly receding past, opening a window on tribal societies and how they can provide unique, often overlooked insights into human nature. This lecture is also available as podcast. This lecture is also available as podcast.
Antimatter, an identical, oppositely charged version of normal matter, is one of the most mysterious substances in the Universe and very little of it survives today. Tara Shears examines the progress being made towards understanding this elusive version of matter, and explains the latest results from LHCb and elsewhere.
Tasting food and drinks is a familiar, everyday experience. But how much do we really know about taste? Barry Smith, Founding Director of the Centre for the Study of the Senses is joined by a historian, a neuroscientist, an artist and a chef in order to explore the many dimensions of food and taste. Together they reveal how our experience of flavours is shaped not only by taste and smell, but also by our environment, the context of the meal we are eating, and even visual cues such as the shape and colour of our plate. Through this we discover how tastes are developed and acquired and why we like some foods more than others.
X-Ray Crystallography might seem like an obscure, even unheard of field of research; however structural analysis has played a part in almost every major scientific field since its discovery 100 years ago by William Henry, and William Lawrence Bragg. Professor Stephen Curry charts the discovery and development of this extraordinary technique, starting with a simple explanation of diffraction, moving through the integral work of the Braggs, and ending with the cutting edge uses that X-Ray Crystallography has found in the modern world. This lecture is also available as podcast.
What is life? Where did it come from? In what form did it first appear? And how? Adam Rutherford draws on recent and dramatic advances in experimental biology to answer these questions. He also looks to the future where we can create entirely new life-forms within the laboratory, offering tailor-made solutions to the crises of food shortage, pandemic disease and climate change. This lecture is only available as podcast.
The ‘reading’ of DNA is a solved technological problem but what about ‘writing’ DNA? Could we program or reprogram biological systems and even generate new life forms? Paul Freemont explores how the powerful fusion of molecular biology, design and engineering could lead to a ‘Biotechnological Revolution’ and considers the implications of the extraordinary field of synthetic biology. This lecture is only available as podcast.
Your life stems from a single cell. Yet within the trillion of cells that make up your body lies a fundamental conundrum. Each cell contains identical DNA, yet muscle cells are very different from skin cells; blood cells are very different from brain cells. How does each of your cells ‘know’ exactly what to do? And when? And where? How do your heart cells start beating? How can your eye cells help you see the world around you? Can we use our understanding of how stem cells transform into specialised cells to build new body parts? What can we learn from animals that can regenerate their limbs? And what are the implications of tinkering with the fabric of life?
Yes, you are a mutant. But so am I. And so is the mouse that we share 99% of our genes with. As our DNA replicates, mutations arise. Sometimes they can be catastrophic, but sometimes they confer a huge advantage. Falcons have eyes that allow them to see for miles, but ants are virtually blind. How come? How are developmental processes altered over evolutionary time to produce novel structures and, ultimately, new species? The history of life revolves around survival of the fittest ‘mutant’. As we understand more about mutations it could help us devise new treatments for genetic conditions. But are we prepared to genetically engineer humans?
Every living thing – humans, animals, plants or a single cell – eventually dies, but why? How do cells know when to die? What controls the ageing process and could we ever halt it? Developmental biology and genetics give us new insights into how cells work and what happens when genes switch on and off. Can we use this knowledge to improve or even extend life? And what are the ethical issues if we do? Would you really want to live forever?
Before the Higgs boson there was a maddening search for another particle that holds the secrets of the universe – the neutrino. First detected in 1956, it teased the answers to still more mysteries. Renowned astrophysicist and award-winning science writer Ray Jayawardhana delivers a thrilling detective story of revolutionary science from the dawn of the quantum age to today’s most inventive labs. This lecture is only available as podcast.
Einstein was at the very centre of the profound revolution in physics caused by quantum theory, discovering many of its key concepts, such as wave-particle duality and uncaused atomic events. So why did he reject quantum theory, calling it ‘only part of the truth’? A. Douglas Stone of Yale University investigates... This lecture is only available as podcast.
Why is mathematics so spectacularly successful at describing the cosmos? In this talk, MIT physics professor Max Tegmark will propose a radical idea: that our physical world is not only described by mathematics, but that it is mathematics. He will show how this theory may provide answers to the nature of reality itself. This lecture is also available as podcast.
The scientific legacy of W.H. and W. L. Bragg, both former Directors of the Ri, is both wide ranging and of crucial significance to modern scientific thought. Judith Howard will discuss the concepts of symmetry, which are not exclusive to crystallography, but are embedded deep in its mathematical foundations and essential to the application of Bragg’s Law in the solution of crystal structures. This lecture is only available as podcast.
Memory is distributed across many brain regions but critical among them is the hippocampus. Eleanor Maguire will draw on evidence from virtual reality, brain imaging and studies of amnesia to show that the consequences of hippocampal damage are even more far-reaching than suspected, robbing us of our past, our imagination and altering our perception of the world.
Professor Alan Davies presents a series of groundbreaking experiments pioneered by the Ancient Greeks. Often called the "birthplace of civilisation", Ancient Greece heralded numerous advances in philosophy, science, engineering and mathematics which have shaped our understanding of the modern world. Assisted by Ri demo technician, Andy Marmery, Professor Davies demonstrates the key discoveries and experiments of many Greek thinkers -- from Thales and Pythagoras to Euclid, Archimedes and Hypatia of Alexandria.
Narcotics have been used by humans since the time of the ancient Egyptians. Sharon Ruston will explore how drugs were developed and used by Sir Humphry Davy at the Ri, and what that says about early 19th Century society. Neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt will discuss his experience advising contemporary government drugs policy, the wealth of new ‘legal highs’ and what he thinks drugs, and society’s view of them, will look like in the future.
Join Professor Chris Bishop (Microsoft Research Ltd, Cambridge) for a spectacular family talk packed with demonstrations of the science that sent people to the moon. See the fiery combustion of energetic propellants, and experience the impressive roar and flame of a hybrid rocket engine fired live in the lecture theatre!
Evolution is powered by variation; the differences in DNA sequences. One hugely important form is copy number variation, where genes are duplicated or deleted from one generation to the next. Aoife McLysaght will explore how copy number variations gave us colour vision, a sense of smell and haemoglobin in our blood, but also the role they play in diseases such as cancer, autism and schizophrenia.
If you were able to make a substance change colour, or turn from a solid to a liquid, would that be magic? From a liquid that boils at room temperature to gases that are heavier than air, join Andrew Szydlo as he explores magical molecules and enchanting elements in this family event full of practical demonstrations of the magic of chemistry.
If you ask people what makes them laugh, they will tell you they laugh at jokes: however if you look at when they laugh a very different pattern emerges, in which laughter can be seen as an extremely important social emotion. Sophie Scott will explore the science of laughter, from laughter in other animals to the acoustics of laughter, and the ways that laughter is processed in our brains.
Maybe an asteroid hit Earth. Perhaps a nuclear war reduced our cities to radioactive rubble. Or an avian flu killed almost everyone on Earth. However it happened, the world as we know it is over and we must start again. So how do we set about rebuilding our world from scratch? How do you grow food and make clothes? Or generate energy and develop medicines? Lewis Dartnell will help us, as the survivors, reconnect with the basic skills and knowledge which our lives and world depend upon. By taking us on a journey of rediscovery, he will transform our understanding of the world.
This very special event will give you the opportunity to hear straight from NASA’s Chief Scientist, Dr Ellen Stofan and Deputy Chief Technologist, Jim Adams. They will provide an overview of NASA’s plans to develop a human exploration pathway to Mars, including plans for a human mission to an asteroid. In the intimate setting of the Royal Institution's Library, you will learn more specifically how science and technology will shape, and be shaped by, these ambitious plans and what opportunities there will be for international cooperation.
The discovery of the Higgs boson was the culmination of the largest scientific experiment ever performed, the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. But what really is a Higgs boson and what does it do? How was it found? And how has its discovery changed our understanding of the fundamental laws of nature? Leading CERN physicist Jon Butterworth gives his inside account of the hunt for the Higgs.
Kant argued that our concept of space was not derived from sensations arising from our interaction with the physical world, but instead represented the a priori basis for our perception of the world in the first place. In this talk, John O’Keefe will examine the evidence from neuroscience that brain areas in the temporal lobes are dedicated to this construction of space, independent of experience. This lecture is only available as a podcast.
What would you experience if you jumped into a black hole? Conventionally, physicists have assumed that if the black hole is large enough, the gravitational forces won’t become extreme until you approach the singularity. There, the gravitational pull will be so much stronger on your feet than your head, that you will be ‘spaghettified’. Now, a new theory proposes that instead of spaghettification, you will encounter a massive wall of fire that will incinerate you on the spot, before you get close to turning into vermicelli. Join science writer Jennifer Ouellette and physicist Sean Carroll for this special event, as they explore the black hole firewall paradox, the exotic physics that underlies the new theory and what the paradox tells us about how new scientific theories are proposed, tested and accepted.
Chemical reactions are the backbone of technologies at the heart of modern society, but what is happening at the atomic level? Professor Pratibha Gai will explain how she has developed an atomic resolution-environmental transmission electron microscope (atomic resolution-ETEM) so that, for the first time, the human eye can see and analyse how atoms move and change positions in crystal structures during chemical reactions. She’ll explore the far-reaching applications of being able to watch atoms in action in important chemical reactions involved in anything from medicine production to the creation of new energy sources.
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1914 resulted in the first complete study of the region. The three years’ worth of observations gleaned by Sir Douglas Mawson and his men provide a unique dataset against which we can compare the changes in weather and sea ice seen today. Chris Turney will present the initial findings of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013-2014, and show how private funding brought the public and science together.
World War I drove great advances in science and technology, but less well-known is its impact on medicine. Emily Mayhew will tell the story of the stretcher bearers of WW1 who were at the heart of this medical revolution. Then, Louis and Marc-Antoine Crocq will explore the evolution of the diagnostics and treatment of ’war neurosis’.
Two years ago, the Higgs Boson was discovered by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. But how precisely does it fill its role as the last missing piece in the Standard Model of particle physics? The Large Hadron Collider will restart in 2015 with almost double the collision energy to test just that. But even then, this theory only accounts for 5% of the Universe, and does not include gravity. Can the LHC shed light on the origin of dark matter? Why is gravity so much weaker than the other forces? Dr Pippa Wells will explain how the LHC will explore these mysteries of matter.
Roma Agrawal, civil engineer from the team that built The Shard in London, walks us through her life in engineering, talks about some of the women who inspired her, and discusses the joy of seeing something you designed be built.
Caro C performs Audient, My Dear, composed in honour of Delia Derbyshire, a pioneer of electronic music in England in the 1960s. Derbyshire, a pioneer of electronic music and most famous for her realisation of the iconic Dr Who theme tune, created a whole world of genre-spanning music. Using found sounds and objects like a ruler and ping pong ball, Caro C entertains the Ri audience with an eerie, beautiful performance. Layering real-world sounds, her own voice, and entrancing beats Caro C builds a beautiful composition at Ada Lovelace Day 2014.
Hannah Fry shows how maths can explain real world events. From crimes to relationships, patterns in numbers such as Benford's law on the prevalence of numbers starting with 1', help us predict the future.
Konnie Huq revels in the intersection between art and science, poetry and maths. She discusses the influences on her life and performs a poem/rap about the perils of technology.
Artist Naomi Kashiwagi’s art explores the potential of objects beyond their intended use. She performs Gramaphonica (Lovelace remix) using a variety of materials and a gramophone to create a sonic experience. Naomi Kashiwagi is an award winning artist and performer. The Royal Institution let her loose in their prep room and archives, where she’s developed her own unique take on Ada Lovelace.
Dr Turi King, geneticist and historian, explains the role of DNA analysis in finding Richard III. At the start, no one expected the Greyfriars Project to succeed, but a truly interdisciplinary team beat the odds to find him under a car park in Leicester.
User experience researcher and designer Steph Troeth talks about designing for real people in the real world. Can simple solutions solve problems of humans in the wild? Bendy phones, everyday hidden behaviour, and how Mary Berry can make you do the washing up.
From space to glow-in-the-dark scorpions and having a software-developer mother, Helen Czerski shares her inspiration and passion for science in this Ada Lovelace Day talk.
Join Sally Le Page for a light-hearted romp through the bizarre jungle of animal sex lives. Every species has come up with a weird and unusual solution for the birds and the bees, and every story gives us a glimmer of insight into the wonderful world of behaviour and evolution.
The Universe seems to be governed by rules that we can, with some effort, understand. Andrew Pontzen will introduce the stranger side of the cosmos – dark matter and dark energy – but then argue that these things are not so weird or unexpected after all. The strangest thing is that our rule-laden cosmos should be so predictable.
With a growing global population, an international challenge is to find sustainable sources of energy. Professor Lesley Yellowlees will explain how chemists can contribute effectively to solar energy. She’ll describe the research she and her team have undertaken in Edinburgh to characterise dye sensitised solar cells using techniques such as UV/Vis and EPR spectroelectrochemistry.
How do innovations arise in biology? Darwin’s theory of natural selection doesn’t tell us, except that they come about by ‘trial and error’. Evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner will show how adaptations are not only driven by chance, but rather by a set of fundamental laws that give rise to a world of biological creativity, and to innovations as diverse as animals that fly and plants that harvest energy from sunlight. Finding where innovations in nature come from begins to place the final puzzle piece in the mystery of life’s rich diversity.
The first Christmas Lecture was delivered in December 1825 by the Royal Institution’s Professor of Mechanics, John Millington. Two years later Michael Faraday gave his first of nineteen series of lectures, culminating with his 1860/61 series ‘The Chemical History of a Candle’ which produced perhaps the most popular science book ever published. As the Royal Institution’s flagship lecture series it was an obvious candidate for broadcasting by the BBC’s fledging television service in 1936. In the post-1945 period several lectures were televised, but it was not until the 1966/7 series that they started being broadcast annually. These two talks, illustrated by clips, experiments and perhaps the odd explosion, will consider the development, content and impact of these lectures. Exists out of 2 videos on YouTube.
Are humans unique in their diverse and wide-ranging cultures? How much of the cultural difference we see can be attributed to the local environment? And what impact can the way societies behave have on the world around them? Join a panel of experts to discuss how the environment might drive cultural evolution, what impact culture has on the environment, and whether humans are the only species with distinct cultures.
If you imagine a three dimensional maze from which there is no escape, how can you map it? Is there a way to describe what all possible mazes look like, and how do mathematicians set about investigating them? Caroline Series describes how hyperbolic geometry is playing a crucial role in answering such questions, illustrating her talk with pictures that have inspired some striking examples of digital art.
In 1878, Geordie inventor Joseph Swan demonstrates the first working light bulb. Now in 2014 we can find tiny LEDs in almost everything we own. So can we use a humble light bulb to start our own imaginative, creative process? Danielle will announce the new rules of invention and show you how to use modern tools and technologies to have fun and make a difference to the world around you.
It was Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell who first managed to get the world’s first telephone to transmit speech – and now we carry these amazing devices around in our pockets! We’re now connected to everyone else in the world, so can we use these networks to solve problems? Danielle will innovate to make astonishing connections that Bell could only have dreamed of.
The Royal Institution’s very own Michael Faraday demonstrated the world’s first motor in 1822 – now we are surrounded by devices that spin, swing and saw. But why stop now? If we continue prototyping, testing and perfecting, can we turn a humble motor into something world changing? Danielle will use her imagination and the new rules of invention to move things in ways that Faraday could only have dreamed of.
Cut pizzas in new and fairer ways! Fit a 2p coin through an impossibly small hole! Make a perfect regular pentagon by knotting a piece of paper! Maths is a game. Join stand-up mathematician Matt Parker on a journey through narcissistic numbers, at least two different kinds of infinity and more in this family-friendly event.
In the first of three guest-curated events on Quantum Biology, Jim Al-Khalili invites Philip Ball to introduce how the mysteries of quantum theory might manifest themselves at the biological level. He will explain how the baffling yet powerful theory of the subatomic world might play an important role in biological processes. Sadly, there is no recording for part 2 of this three-part lecture on Quantum biology.
Bacteria are our ancient enemies, evolving ever more clever ways of outmanoeuvring our natural defences and scientific technologies. For millennia, a simple cut or cough could kill. With the development of antibiotics, it seemed we would reign supreme. But now the bacteria are again gaining ground. With antibiotic resistance on the rise, and the development of new drugs having stagnated for decades, we humans might be in a lot of trouble very soon. Why are bacteria so insidious, what tricks do they employ to get the upper hand, and what can we do to stop them? Join Dr Jenny Rohn to explore these questions.
After the storming success of his family-friendly talk at the Ri itself and online, Andrew Szydlo is back to take us through the fantastic world of steel and iron. Expect spectacular white hot reactions, wacky colour changes and chemical illusions in this demonstration-packed performance.
The periodic table has been an emblem of science for over 100 years. Explosions, poisonings, space exploration and novelty Victoria parlour games are all contained within the chemist's favourite poster. Join chemical physicist and material scientist Jamie Gallagher, and geek songstress Helen Arney, on a guided tour of the most famous of scientific images.
In 1950, Bruno Pontecorvo, one of Britain's brightest atomic physicists, disappeared without trace. He re-surfaced six years later: in the USSR. In this talk, based on unprecedented access to archives, letters, surviving family members and scientists, Frank Close exposes the truth of Pontecorvo’s life behind the Iron Curtain, and reveals why he went so suddenly. This lecture is only available as podcast.
What goes on inside the mind of a mathematician? Where does inspiration come from? Fields Medal winner Cédric Villani will combine passion and imagination to take us on a fantastical adventure through the beautiful, mysterious world of mathematics.
We live at a moment of deep change, between one geological time and another. We are moving from the Holocene to new era, the Anthropocene. Only recently we have come to understand that our actions have already altered this planet and that we now shape nature. Jan Zalasiewicz and Christian Schwägerl will come together to discuss the innovations, fears and promise of a pivotal moment in planetary history.
To end Jim Al-Khalili’s series of guest-curated events, three researchers will explain how quantum theory is being applied to their own work in this cutting-edge field of scientific discovery. Nigel Scrutton will explore proton tunnelling in enzymes, Alexandra Olaya-Castro will discuss her latest research in photosynthesis and Jenny Brookes will explain her work on a quantum model of olfaction. This lecture is only available as podcast. Sadly, the second part of this 3-part 'Quantum Biology' series has not been recorded.
How do you learn about the social behaviour of animals that have been extinct for millions of years? Palaeontologist David Hone discusses what the fossil record can – and can’t – tell us about how the dinosaurs lived. Piecing together the behaviour of long extinct groups is naturally very difficult, but can be done with care. New fossil from the Gobi deserts of Mongolia are helping us work out how these animals lived and died together. Sadly part 3 (a lecture by Jon Butterworth) of this 3-part 'Dinosaurs, epigenetics and the Higgs' has not been recorded.
Why your DNA is not your destiny. Molecular biologist Nessa Carey presents an introduction to epigenetics and explains how it shapes life. Sadly part 3 (a lecture by Jon Butterworth) of this 3-part 'Dinosaurs, epigenetics and the Higgs' has not been recorded.
The concept of information is fundamental to all areas of science, and ubiquitous in daily life in the Internet Age. However, it is still not well understood despite being recognised for more than 40 years. In this talk, Daniel Dennett will explore steps towards a unified theory of information, through common threads in evolution, learning, and engineering.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time, 'Breaking Bad' was a show with science at its core. With a genius chemist as its main protagonist, it explored complex themes of morality. Chemist Dave Smith and psychologist Julian Boon will delve into the science behind the show, while screenwriter Paul Viragh will discuss the challenge of representing science on screen. The discussion chaired by author, presenter and 'Breaking Bad' fan Claudia Hammond.
When lasers were invented over half a century ago they were hailed as a “solution looking for a problem”. Since then lasers have come to revolutionise our lives through their practical applications such as data transport and CD/ DVD players, and as a tool for industry and science. The largest and most powerful lasers in the world can be used to make some of the most extreme conditions possible on earth. Scientists around the globe are using these lasers to try to miniaturise particle accelerators, make astrophysical conditions in the lab, and create fusion energy. Dr Kate Lancaster will lead you through this extreme world with demonstrations along the way in celebration of the International Year of Light.
Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in ancient DNA research, takes us through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing their genomes, to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, Shapiro will explore the extraordinary cutting-edge science that is being used to resurrect the past.
First dates, police interviews, doctor-patient communication and commercial sales – they are all driven by talk. And an understanding of how talk works is crucial for success. Elizabeth Stokoe explains how conversation analysis works to provide a scientific understanding of talk as it unfolds in mundane as well as dramatic settings. Rather than being messy and disorderly, she shows that talk is in fact organised systematically. Like behavioural change in ‘nudge’ theory, she also shows how small variations in what we say impacts on what others say and do next. Finally, she will demonstrate how her research findings can underpin communication training – in contrast to role-play and simulation – and upended common assumptions about how talk works.
The maths we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. Jordan Ellenberg will show us how wrong this view is. Maths touches everything we do, allowing us to see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives. Maths is the science of not being wrong, worked out through centuries of hard work and argument.
How was the code of DNA cracked? How did it confirm the theory of evolution? And why did life evolve the way it did? To celebrate their ground-breaking new books, Matthew Cobb and Nick Lane will come together to unravel the tangled story of DNA and answer the vital question: why are we as we are, and why are we here at all? This lecture exists out of 2 parts on YouTube (‘Why is life the way it is’ + ‘The Race to Crack the Genetic Code’).
Join Marty Jopson, the BBC One Show’s resident scientist as he takes a sparky journey through the story of electricity. Do you know the difference between current and voltage? With the aid of the audience, Marty will explain. From the Ancient Greeks, through Faraday’s genius, this show aims to put the awesome back into electricity. You may think we have electricity tamed, but are you sure? A show chock full of demonstrations and a plucked chicken. Expect an electrifying performance.
In just one hour, award-winning writer and broadcaster Marcus Chown will attempt to explain the whole world! Everything from finance to thermodynamics, sex to special relativity, human origins to the human brain. Come along and learn why babies are powered by rocket fuel, slime moulds have 13 sexes and 98% of the Universe is invisible.
Nobel laureate, Frank Wilczek’s groundbreaking work in quantum physics was inspired by his intuition to look for a deeper order of beauty in the universe, using simple questions in an attempt to see the whole answer. Wilczek explores how this quest has also guided the work of all great scientific thinkers in the Western world, from Plato to Einstein, and shows us just how deeply intertwined our ideas about perception, beauty and art are with our scientific understanding of the cosmos. On YouTube, this lecture is called 'Quantum Physics and Universal Beauty'.
We now think the Universe is packed with invisible materials – dark matter and dark energy – pulling and pushing the parts that we see. Join BBC Stargazing Live and Sky at Night presenter, Lucie Green as she explores this frontier of understanding with Nobel laureate Adam Riess and other leading cosmologists.
Does writing well matter in an age of instant communication? Drawing on the latest research in linguistics and cognitive science, Steven Pinker will replace the recycled dogma of style guides with reason and evidence. In this brand-new talk, introduced by Lord Melvyn Bragg, Steven will argue that style still matters: in communicating effectively, in enhancing the spread of ideas, in earning a reader’s trust and, not least, in adding beauty to the world.
What makes you forget why you entered a room? Why is it safer for a cat to fall from 32 stories than from seven? And why do you feel more drunk from rum and diet cola than rum and regular cola? Join Australia’s science legend Dr Karl for a whirlwind tour of scientific explanations and bizarre facts. Find out how photos of eyes make you honest, why the phrase "sinister buttocks" gets into students' essays, and what the ‘big cover up' is on kissing.
The properties of light which could not be explained through classical physics helped to kick-start the quantum revolution. Soon after, strange quantum phenomena were described - state superpositions, entanglement and the realisation of "Schrödinger’s cat". In celebration of the International Year of Light, join Nobel Laureate Serge Haroche to explore these quantum phenomena, the role of light in an explosion of discovery and possible applications of the counter-intuitive quantum logic.
Judith Mank leads a tour of how sex is genetically programmed and how sex differences evolve. Males and females in many species are often quite different from one another. The sex of an individual can have profound effects on how an organisms behaves, how it looks, how it lives and, in some cases, even how it dies. These differences are the product of different evolutionary forces acting on males and females, sometimes creating substantial conflicts between the sexes. In this talk, Judith Mank gives a quick tour of how sex is genetically programmed and how sex differences evolve.
Fay Dowker tells the story of general relativity and its interactions with Newtonian physics, from Galileo to cutting edge research on the granularity of spacetime.
Synthetic biology is a new, intriguing technology that could have a huge impact on humans and our environment. Writer and broadcaster Adam Rutherford will chair a panel of experts, including Louise Horsfall, Paul Freemont, Susan Molyneux-Hodgson and Robert Edwards. They will outline the process of designing and building new life forms and discuss the ethical challenges we will face. What impact could synthetic biology have on everyday life, and how far could we, and should we, take this revolutionary science?
From shell-stealing octopuses to snails that suck sharks’ blood, molluscs are a weird bunch. Join marine biologist Helen Scales to find out how hermit crabs like to party and butterflies learnt to swim. This interactive talk dives into the spiralling world of seashells and the bizarre animals that make them.
The idea of building machines that are only nanometres in size is a dream that has formed the basis of Hollywood movies. How realistic is such a goal and how would we go about tackling the challenges that lie in wait? How do we begin to build a machine simply from molecules? Join Neil Champness to explore the future of nanoscale machines.
As Bonfire Night approaches, the ever-popular Andrew Szydlo will bring you a visually spectacular performance explaining the science along the way. With fiery reactions, colour-changing liquids and gunpowder, prepare to come away in amazement.
It is an everyday observation that the offspring of elephants are elephants and the offspring of humans are humans. Our biology is, quite literally, written in our DNA, and the copying and transmission of this genetic information is the most extraordinary process on earth. The ideas of genetics are revolutionary, from Mendel’s perfect 19th century description of the mechanism of heredity, through the molecular revolutions of the 20th century to the present day. Today, new technologies are galvanising disruptive change, not only in our understanding of biology, but in our ability to intervene in the very nature of life itself. What can we change? How? Why? And indeed, should we meddle at all? “The bravest”, said Thucydides, “Are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it”.
To coincide with the release of the second part of his autobiography, Richard Dawkins will discuss the key individuals, institutions and ideas that have inspired and motivated him since the publication of ‘The Selfish Gene’ in 1976. He will describe his life as a scientist that has taken him from the Panama Canal, to encounters with the greatest scientific minds of the 20th Century. He will also reflect on his efforts to popularise scientific ideas, through bestselling books, fiery debates and presenting the 1991 Christmas lectures. This lecture is also available as podcast.
The 20th century gave us two great theories of physics. The general theory of relativity describes the behaviour of very large things, quantum theory the behaviour of very small things. But how can these theories be combined into a ‘theory of everything?’. Astrophysicist John Gribbin will present his own version of the ‘Holy Grail’ of physics, bringing the two theories together in one mathematical package offering the answer to life and the universe.
Is it possible to light up a cancer cell in the brain? Could scorpion venom be the answer? Dr Jim Olson, Paediatric Haematology Oncology Specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital and a member of the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is developing a radical new technique in the field of fluorescent image-guided surgery, Tumor Paint, that has the potential to transform the way tumors are removed from the brain - by using a special paint the make the cancerous areas glow. Dr Henry Marsh is a leading British neurosurgeon whose pioneering work in brain tumour surgery has been the subject of major award-winning BBC documentaries. His extraordinary memoir, Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery, is an international best-seller, nominated for eight major UK literary prizes and the Sky Arts South Bank Show 2015 Award recipient for Literature and PEN Ackerley Prize. He was made a CBE in 2010. This a rare opportunity to hear and question two of the world's most eminent doctors working in the field of neuroscience.
From Rachel Dolezal to the Charleston church shooting, the subject of race is never far from the headlines. Biological science tells us that ‘races’ may not even be real. but the social sciences tell us that racism certainly is. Can science help us make sense of these undeniably important yet emotive subjects? Writer and broadcaster Adam Rutherford will host a panel of experts including: Richard Crisp, Kenan Malik, Aoife McLysaght and Heidi Mirza for an evidence-based discussion of an always controversial subject. This lecture is also available as podcast.
One of the last acts of Tsar Alexander I before his death in 1825 was to give Humphry Davy a silver-gilt cup — the Davy cup. It was a token of gratitude for Davy’s invention of the miners’ safety lamp ten years before. With appropriately explosive demonstrations, Frank James will showcase Davy’s experimental development of his lamp while reflecting on the relationship between science and the state symbolised by the Davy cup, a treasure from the Ri's Faraday Museum.
From the historic Royal Institution, space doctor Kevin Fong takes us on a ride from launch to orbit and the cosmos beyond for the annual children's Christmas Lectures. And there's help direct from outer space as Britain's first astronaut on the International Space Station, Tim Peake, dials in. In the first lecture, Kevin explores and probes second by second what it takes to 'lift off' into space. With Tim only days into his six-month mission, he helps Kevin answer what keeps astronauts safe and on track as they are propelled into orbit. How do you control the energy of 300 tonnes of liquid fuel? What happens to your body if you don't wear a spacesuit? And how do you catch up with a space station travelling at 17,500 mph to finally get inside? With explosive live experiments, guest astronauts in the lecture theatre, and planetary scientist Monica Grady direct from the launch pad in Kazakhstan, we learn all this and more as those thrilling minutes of lift off are recreated.
In the second lecture, Kevin explores life in orbit on board the International Space Station. As Tim settles in to his new home he sends special reports about what it takes to live and work in space. Four hundred kilometres above the Earth, hurtling at a speed of 17,500mph, astronauts' bones and muscles waste away, the oxygen they breathe is artificially made, and they face constant threats from micrometeorites, radiation and extreme temperatures. If a medical emergency strikes, Tim is a very long way from home. In its 15-year lifetime, the International Space Station has never had a major accident. With a British astronaut in orbit, gravity-defying experiments and guest astronauts in the lecture theatre, Dr Fong shows us how to survive life in orbit.
In the third and final lecture, Kevin explores the the next frontier of human space travel. Live from the Station hurtling at 17,500mph, 400 km above the Earth, Tim answers questions directly from the children in the lecture theatre audience. With Tim's help out in Earth's orbit, Kevin investigates how the next generation of astronauts will be propelled across the vast chasm of space to Mars and beyond. So, how will life be artificially sustained as we travel the millions of kilometres to the red planet and on into the cosmos? How will our food last for three years or more? And what is waiting what for us when we finally land? With earth-shattering experiments, top space scientists and our astronaut live from space, Dr Fong reveals how we'll survive that voyage to space's next frontier and beyond.
Today’s computers are lightning-fast. But sometimes we want to make sure that they can’t solve a particular task quickly (perhaps for security purposes). This issue lies at the heart of the P vs NP problem, one of the most famous conundrums in computer science, which Kevin Buzzard will explore in this Discourse.
When we hear about physics, we often hear about the weirdness of the tiny quantum world or the bewildering vastness of the cosmos. But there's a lot in the middle, and it's time someone starting talking about it. Helen Czerski will take us through some of the little everyday oddities that shed light on some of the most important science and technology of our time. Once the patterns are visible, a new perspective on the world beckons
There is widespread agreement among researchers in cognitive science that a human brain is some kind of computer, but not much like the laptop. If we look at perceptual experience, and education in particular, as a process of redesigning our cerebral computers, how does the software get designed, and what are the limits of this design process? Join Daniel C Dennett to find out.
From its effect on protein folding to its work as a universal solvent, the unique properties of water make it an indispensable ingredient for life. In this discourse, Sylvia McLain will explore the fundamental and mysterious role of water in life.
Our Universe is, at the very least, 100 billion light years – or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 metres – across. But where does this number come from? How can we measure the distance to even the nearest star when we’ve never visited? And, at a time when cosmologists reckon our Universe may be just one of many in a giant multiverse, will we ever truly grasp the magnitude of what’s out there? Join us on a voyage into the farthest reaches of space and time.
We can’t always control what our brains do and, unconsciously, many of us are racist, sexist and biased without meaning to be. Join sociologist Louise Archer, business psychologist Binna Kandola, astrophysicist Emma Chapman and the IOP's Gender Balance Manager pre-19 Jessica Rowson as they explore the biased world of science.
Can the following of fashion, blind faith, or flights of fantasy have anything seriously to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe? Surely not - but Roger Penrose argues that researchers working at the extreme frontiers of physics are as susceptible to these forces as anyone else, and that fashion, faith, and fantasy, while sometimes highly productive in physics, may be leading today's researchers astray in three of that field's most important areas—string theory, quantum mechanics, and cosmology.
U3A members and and anyone else who is interested join us at the Ri for an afternoon of talks on measuring wildlife, art and science, and cryptography.
Tullis Onstott is a geochemist who travels deep into the uncharted regions beneath the Earth's crust to search for life in extreme environments. In his new book Deep Life, Tullis explores new discoveries from the deep that are helping in the quest to find life in the solar system. In 1901 H. G. Wells, a contemporary of Lowell, published The First Men in the Moon, in which he constructed a fantastically sophisticated society of insect-like creatures, Selenites, living beneath the lunar surface. Since then, the concept of subsurface life has figured frequently in science fiction novels and movies, even in episodes of Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. But is there any scientific basis supporting it? Can life survive miles beneath a planet’s surface for millions of years even when that surface is inimical to it? In Tullis Onstott’s new book, Deep Life, you will be transported on safaris to the deepest realms of our planet in the search of the answer to this question and to the origin of life itself. The organisms and ecosystems encountered on these journeys are so astonishing in their resilience and complexity that life beneath the surface of Mars is now no longer restricted to the realm of science fiction, but is a tangible target and concern for future robotic and human missions.
The crystalline materials known as Perovskites make up 38% of the volume of the earth. Moreover, they have many very important practical uses, for example in electronics, ultrasonics and in thermal sensing devices. So what are they exactly? Mike Glazer will explain how tiny changes in their crystal structures can lead to such a vast array of different properties and why they are so important in our daily lives.
Join award-winning surgeon and researcher Pankaj Chandak on a journey of medical innovation, from the first antiseptics of Joseph Lister to surgical robots. Hear how modern-day surgeons are realising the impossible with 3D printing, perfusion machines and antibody-supressing drugs.
Tyrannosaurus is the most famous dinosaur in the world, with its six ton weight and bone crushing bite, but how did the tyrannosaurs come to dominate their prehistoric world? Join palaeontologist Dr David Hone to find about the evolution, ecology and behaviour of this fascinating group of dinosaurs.
An estimated 700,000 people in Britian are affected by autism. In this Discourse, Dame Stephanie Shirley will share her hands-on experience of the disorder - providing a virtual reality demonstration of how the world appears to someone on the spectrum; and introducing the robot which teaches at Prior's Court, her specialist autism school.
J. Richard Gott was among the first cosmologists to propose that the structure of our Universe is like a sponge made up of clusters of galaxies intricately connected by filaments of galaxies – a magnificent structure now called the 'cosmic web'. In this talk he will show how ambitious telescope surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey are transforming our understanding of the cosmos, and how the cosmic web holds vital clues to the origins of the universe and the next trillion years that lie ahead.
We know a lot about depression, fear, disgust and anxiety, but positive emotions remain mysterious. Join Vin Walsh and a panel of experts including Julia Christensen, Joe Gladstone and Morten Kringelbach for a discussion of the psychology and neuroscience of happiness.
Patrick Vallance, President of Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline, will explore the key questions you need to answer when making a medicine and how data, increasingly captured in real-time, could lead to better outcomes for patients.
Although hygiene and antibiotics have overall improved our health, we might have taken our war against germs too far. B Brett Finlay will talk about why a little dirt and our microbes might be good for all of us, as he discusses his new book, Let Them Eat Dirt, co-authored with Marie-Claire Arrieta.
Everything around us is made of ‘stuff’, or matter. But what is it, exactly? Jim Baggott will explore our changing understanding of the nature of matter, from the ancient Greeks to the development of quantum field theory and the discovery of the Higgs boson.
Our lives will increasingly depend on the decisions robots will make. Robots will drive our cars, run our homes and treat our diseases. But how can we teach robots to make moral judgements, and do they have to be sentient to behave ethically? Join Alan Winfield and Raja Chatila to explore these fascinating and vital questions
In billions of years, the sun will expand to engulf the Earth and life on this planet will become impossible. But there are plenty of ways it could end much sooner! Just in time for Asteroid Day, join Lewis Dartnell and a panel of scientists and disaster experts including Rosalind Eggo, Vinay Gupta and Hugh Lewis for a discussion on how to cancel the apocalypse.
In our increasingly connected world, computers and data are everywhere. Nick Jennings will explore how humans and AI systems can work together to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, probing the scientific underpinning of such systems, the applications they have been applied to, and the societal implications of their widespread adoption.
On 21 August, over 100 million people will gather in a narrow belt across the USA to witness the most watched total solar eclipse in history. Former Christmas Lecturer Frank Close will describe why eclipses happen, their role in history and myth and reveal the spellbinding allure of this most beautiful natural phenomenon.
Black holes are amongst the most extraordinary objects that are known to exist in the universe. Jerome Gauntlett will discuss their fascinating properties and describe the dramatic recent observations of black holes using gravitational waves. He will also explain why it is believed that black holes hold the key to unlocking the next level of our understanding of the fundamental laws of physics.
Join pioneering physicist Jon Butterworth on a journey into the world of the unseen in search of atoms and quarks, electrons and neutrinos, the forces that shape the universe and the mysterious territory currently being explored at the energy frontier.
While the obesity epidemic is a contemporary problem, undoubtedly due to changes in our lifestyle and in the types of food we eat, differences in our genetic make-up mean some of us eat more than others. Join geneticist and neuroscientist Giles Yeo as he discusses how we use genetics as a tool to understand the biological variation in appetite control.
For something that is so good for us, swearing gets a bad rap. Science writer Emma Byrne will explore the close connection between bad language and our emotions. She will shed light on the latest in the neuroscience and origins of swearing.
Consciousness might not be a black and white issue. Join neuroscientist Adrian Owen to find out about a pioneering new technique that allows doctors to communicate with people thought to be lost in persistent vegetative states.
Last September, the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft mission ended its 20 years in space by burning up in Saturn’s atmosphere (on purpose). Hear from Michele Dougherty, one of the mission's lead scientists, as she describes some surprising discoveries made during the orbital tour at Saturn, including water vapor plumes at the small moon Enceladus and implications this has for potential habitability.
Dr Frankenstein aimed to create new life from inanimate parts. But how did life first arise on Earth? Join Nick Lane in conversation with Phil Ball as they discuss the latest ideas, from warm ponds to space rocks and hydrothermal vents.
Quantum technology has the potential to revolutionise whole fields of computing; from cryptography to molecular modelling. But how do quantum computers work? Join leading experts to untangle the quantum computing hype, at this event supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Andrew Hanson will elaborate on his own area of work – colour measurement. Colour informs, influences consumer choices, warns us and comforts us. As with every aspect of life, it needs to be measured to ensure good communication and confidence in manufacturing processes for a diverse range of goods from pills to paints. But how do we ascribe numbers to a human perception which is incredibly versatile and variable? The challenge is enormous and human colour perception science is still a lively topic today. Be warned! This demonstration talk will contain surprises – there is a lot more to colour than meets the eye.
You’ve heard of smart phones, smart meters, smart watches… Well now it’s the turn of smart materials. In the future, solid objects will react, sense, change and move according to their surroundings. This won’t be a result of clever robotics or electronics, but rather the fundamental properties of the stuff itself. In years to come, we will be living in self-regulating houses, riding self-fixing bicycles, and driving on self-illuminating roads, all thanks to these so-called ‘smart materials’. These are metals, plastics, fabrics and fluids that react to the outside world without any human involvement, and they promise to change the way we live. In this talk, award-winning materials scientist and engineer Dr Anna Ploszajski will show you the smart materials that will make the material world around us smarter. Expect to see matter doing things you’ve never seen it do before!
Natural history museums are magical places. They inspire awe and wonder in the natural world and help us understand our place within the animal kingdom. Behind the scenes, many of them are also undertaking world-changing science with their collections. But they are places for people, made by people. We might like to consider them logical places, centred on facts, but they can’t tell all the facts – there isn’t room. Similarly, they can’t show all the animals. And there are reasons behind what goes on display and what gets left in the storeroom.
The ability to remember personally experienced events in vivid, multisensory detail makes an immensely important contribution to our lives, allowing us to re-live each moment of a previous encounter and providing us with the store of precious memories that form the building blocks of who we are. Such remembering involves reactivating sensory and perceptual features of an event, and the thoughts and feelings we had when the event occurred, integrating them into a conscious first-person experience. It allows us to make judgments about the things we remember, such as distinguishing events that actually occurred from those we might have imagined or been told about. Although a great deal is known about the cognitive and neural processes that enable us to recall a word list, for example, considerably less is known about the processes underlying the subjective experience of remembering. Drawing on inspiration from philosophers and novelists, Jon Simons will consider the latest evidence during his Discourse.
The Large Hadron Collider switched on in 2015 at the highest energy ever, re-creating the conditions of the universe as they were just a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, and what physicists are learning so far is that our universe seems to be … extremely odd. But to know exactly how odd it is we need to build a bigger collider, to get even closer to the moment of the Big Bang. How big do we need to go? Join particle physicist James Beacham as he explores what we would likely learn from a hadron collider around the moon, such as whether we live in a multiverse — and what this means for society.
Join radio frequency engineer, TV presenter and former Christmas Lecturer Danielle George as she will discuss both the ALMA and SKA telescopes and how these pioneering machines will generate huge amounts of data that will help us explore our continuous curiosity of the Universe.
Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long explored its meaning while scientists have found that its structure is different from the simple intuition we have of it. From Boltzmann to quantum theory, from Einstein to loop quantum gravity, our understanding of time has been undergoing radical transformations. Time flows at a different speed in different places, the past and the future differ far less than we might think, and the very notion of the present evaporates in the vast universe. With his extraordinary charm and sense of wonder, bringing together science, philosophy and art, Carlo Rovelli will unravel this mystery. Enlightening and consoling, The Order of Time shows that to understand ourselves we need to reflect on time and to understand time we need to reflect on ourselves.
Could an artificial intelligence predict a crime before it happens? Will we ever truly trust a machine? What new technology might be used against us in the future? Our expert panel will open our eyes and try to allay our fears regarding the future of crime.
The brain is the most complex structure in the Universe, and neurologists must puzzle out life-changing diagnoses from the tiniest of clues. In this talk, Suzanne O’Sullivan will follow the trail of her patients’ symptoms: feelings of déjà vu lead us to a damaged hippocampus; spitting and fidgeting to the right temporal lobe; fear of movement to a brain tumour and a missed heartbeat to the limbic system.
Technology is becoming more and more advanced but cannot prosper on its own, the human brain and the experience that humans have is not easily taught, from removing bias to introducing emotional intelligence. Join a panel of experts as they discuss how machines, humans and processes are coming together to create powerful new insights.
Join mathematician David Sumpter on an algorithm-strewn journey to the dark side of mathematics. He will investigate the equations that analyse us, influence us and will (maybe) become like us.
The complexity of the Universe emerges from several deep laws and a handful of fundamental constants that fix its shape, scale, and destiny. Join Peter Atkins for a revolutionary weaving together of the fundamental ideas of physics, looking at how the laws of Nature can spring from very little. Or arguably from nothing at all.
Energy use worldwide continues to soar and buildings are responsible for a large percentage of this use. Join new Royal Institution Director Shaun Fitzgerald as he will reveal the surprising physics of hot air, and how using his research led him to revolutionise building ventilation with dramatic reductions in energy usage.
Drawing upon her cutting-edge research, award-winning neuroscientist, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore will explain what happens inside the adolescent brain, and what her team’s experiments have revealed about our behaviour, and how we relate to each other and our environment. Our adolescence provides a lens through which we can see ourselves anew. It is fundamental to how we invent ourselves.
How could LSD and psilocybin help with mental health, palliative care and addictive behaviours? What was the point of a psilocybin mushroom evolving the way that it did? Michael Pollan will explore the “second wave” of international research and discuss what psychedelic drugs may teach us about the mind, human consciousness and their potential effect on our future lives.
Neuroscientist Morten Kringelbach will discuss radical new brain imaging technology, and army doctor Alexander Wieck Fjaeldstad will describe how smells trigger memories to reveal what is going on inside the brains of people affected by psychological trauma, head injury and PTSD
Quantum physics has a reputation as one of the most obscure and impenetrable subjects in science. Philip Ball will talk about what quantum theory really means – and what it doesn’t – and how its counterintuitive principles create the world we experience.
On the 100th anniversary of the deadly Spanish flu, Peter Piot will discuss the ever-present risk of another global pandemic in our increasingly interconnected world. He will comment on the shortcomings of the global response to the West African Ebola outbreak and, drawing on his experience combating HIV/AIDS, he will highlight the need to focus on prevention and preparedness for future health threats.
For thousands of years, mathematicians have used the timeless art of logic to see the world more clearly. Today, truth is buried under soundbites and spin, and seeing clearly is more important than ever. In this talk, Eugenia Cheng will show how anyone can think like a mathematician to understand what people are really telling us – and how we can argue back. Taking a careful scalpel to politics, privilege, sexism and dozens of other real-world situations, she will teach us how to find clarity without losing nuance.
Will there forever be stars in the sky? Will humanity roam the cosmos for eternity? What does the future hold for our Universe? Join us for a journey through space and time, from galactic collisions and hyperactive black holes, on to the death of the last star.
How does the brain think? And more importantly, can we replicate thinking with a man-made device? Zdenka Kuncic will provide a tantalising glimpse into the possibility of synthetic intelligence in the not-too-distant future.
Anita Sengupta is a hyperloop engineer and former NASA rocket scientist, working at the extremes of her field, from studying quantum physics in the space station to building 1000km/h hyperloop transport systems. Join Anita to hear the story of how understanding the complexity of the Universe, from the subatomic scale to dark matter and dark energy, can help us develop the technology of the future.
How do you engineer the fastest mode of transport on Earth? What does it take to turn a hundred year old idea into a reality? Join Anita Sengupta, Rocket Scientist and Research Professor from the University of Southern California, as she discusses the work and creativity that goes into the Hyperloop, a new form of high-speed transportation that can best be described as space travel on the ground that travels at 1000km/h to life. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.
We like to think of ourselves as exceptional beings, but are we really any more special than other animals? Humans are the slightest of twigs on a single family tree that encompasses four billion years, a lot of twists and turns, and a billion species. All of those organisms are rooted in a single origin, with a common code that underwrites our existence. This paradox - that our biology is indistinct from all life, yet we consider ourselves to be special - lies at the heart of who we are. In an original and entertaining tour of life on Earth, Adam Rutherford will explore how many of the things once considered to be exclusively human are not: we are not the only species that communicates, makes tools, utilises fire, or has sex for reasons other than to make new versions of ourselves. Evolution has, however, allowed us to develop our culture to a level of complexity that outstrips any other observed in nature.
Blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, has an almost unlimited number of applications beyond finance. From digital identities to kidney transplants, blockchain technology solves the problem of intermediary trust between parties without a central authority. But how does the blockchain work? And has its usefulness been overstated? Join John Domingue and Sajida Zouarhi to find out more about this exciting technology and see how it is being implemented in real-world situations, in this joint event with the Embassy of France.
The V&A is a museum with a rich history. From its Victorian roots in the Design School Movement of the 1830s to its collections from the 1851 Great Exhibition, its establishment as the Museum of Manufactures in 1852 to the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1899. But the past doesn’t insure us against the future. Tristram Hunt will explore how museums can retain their relevance and purpose in our contemporary age. For an institution enmeshed in collections going back 5,000 years, the V&A is as focused on curating the future as preserving the past.
How do you create smart materials capable of healing bone, restoring kidney function or reversing the onset of diabetes? Can our own stem cells be used to heal us? Join us as we explore these questions, and more, with experts within regenerative medicine.
Science should be for everyone, but not everyone gets the representation that they deserve. What does that mean for society? Join Alex Lathbridge and a panel of experts as they explore the work of prominent Black scientists from the past and how experts with new experiences are changing the face of contemporary science as we know it. Exploring how lack of diversity has affected everything from AI to genetics, our experts will show how researchers are combating years of bias in the most-cutting edge research.
We've all heard of 'diversity' but what does it mean in practice? How can teams in business and research use the idea of diversity to produce better results? Currently only about 12-15% of the engineers who are building the internet and its software are women. As AI and Machine Learning is based on the data you feed it and how you design it, we are at risk of exacerbating existing biases if we do not ensure that diverse data sets are included from design In this event, experts in the field of science and philosophy will come together to explore the theme of diversity of perspective covering diversity of people, data, models and mindset. We will use the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning to show the increasing complexity and relevance of having a diverse outlook.
Could particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider really help to cure cancer? An advanced form of radiotherapy, proton beam therapy enables tumours to be targeted with greater precision, reducing the collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue. With two NHS proton beam centres set to open this year, physicist Simon Jolly sheds light on this cutting-edge technique and the technology needed to deliver it.
What makes you the way you are—and what makes each of us different from everyone else? Join Kevin Mitchell as he traces human diversity and individual differences to their deepest level: in the wiring of our brains. Deftly guiding us through important new research, including his own groundbreaking work, he explains how variations in the way our brains develop before birth strongly influence our psychology and behaviour throughout our lives, shaping our personality, intelligence, sexuality, and even the way we perceive the world.
Through natural selection, animals have evolved exquisite adaptations for highly efficient movement through the air, in water and across the ground. Careful analyses of the adaptations of flying, swimming and walking animals are beginning to deliver substantial improvements in the efficiency of a new generation of robotic vehicles. Join zoologist and inventor Adrian Thomas as he showcases his work mimicking nature, from a drone that's inspired by a dragonfly to a boat with a fin rather than a propeller.
Were your school achievements predicable at birth? Would you be the same person today if you'd been raised by another family? The nature vs nurture debate is evolving, and with the new era of personal genomics and DNA testing kits, it's more important than ever to find out what our DNA can really tell us about who we are. Join Robert Plomin as he explores the implications of the DNA revolution and what it means to discover that our genes are the single most powerful influence on what makes you, you.
Once you know how to see them, numbers are all around us – buried in the dimensions of buildings and encoding the data on our favourite gadgets. They’re a beautiful system of patterns and codes, but also an essential tool that can guide our daily decisions, change our behaviour, and even predict the future—if we can just learn how to use them right. Join Bobby Seagull as he illuminates the world of numbers and brings his infectious enthusiasm to everything from the mystery of magic numbers, the improbability of probability, the right number of friends to have, and how prime numbers control everything from credit card encryption to cicada hibernation habits.
We take the advance of science as given. But how does science really work? Who decides what the public gets to hear about? Are there too few scientists in the world or too many? Answering these questions and more, Jeremy Baumberg will shed light on a cutthroat and tightly tensioned enterprise that even scientists themselves often don't fully understand, and suggest how we might intervene to resuscitate science.
With limited access to natural resources, scientists must develop new ways to reduce and reuse what we already have. Join Bert Weckhuysen as he explores how chemistry is being used to create waste-powered transport and why it is so difficult to convert carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals. This event is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
As Bonfire night approaches, join Chemistry teacher and science demonstrations virtuoso Andrew Szydlo for an unforgettable evening exploring the chemistry of something seemingly rather ordinary: coal. From its initial discovery, its use as the fuel of the industrial revolution, to some of the more interesting and exciting compounds we can obtain from coal, Andrew will take us on an illuminating tour of this intriguing rock. Expect lots of flashes, smokes and smells, exciting colourful chemistry, and plenty of flames along the way!
