The discovery that we live in an ordinary galaxy, one of several hundred billion in the observable Universe, instigated a profound change in thinking about our place in the Universe. This first lecture covered the Great Debate of the early twentieth century as new telescopes and new ways of observing the cosmos put our Milky […]

Oppenheimer, The Film

During 2015 I was lucky to see a National Theatre play about J Robert Oppenheimer and I wrote about it here https://wordpress.com/post/helenthehare.org.uk/13072 I am a retired physics teacher and I try to keep up with everything physics so I made a point of seeing Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film about J Robert Oppenheimer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppenheimer_(film) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15398776/ https://youtu.be/bK6ldnjE3Y0 […]

Cosmic Conclusions – The End of the Universe

Wed, 31 May 2023 The Universe is expanding, increasingly so. Will this persist or will it collapse back on itself? If it does expand forever, what happens to the galaxies? What is the long-term trajectory for the ultimate in collapsed matter, black holes? Part of: Cosmic Conclusions https://podcast.gresham.ac.uk/1904814/13023258 Astronomy Physics Science Professor Katherine Blundell OBE […]

What Is the Role of Nuclear Power in a Net Zero System?

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 The UK’s nuclear power reactors have provided a significant proportion of the UK’s low carbon electricity over their lifetimes. Most will retire in this decade. Advances in technology mean that modern systems can compete with other forms of low carbon energy. The lecture discussed the progress made in development of Small […]

The Carbon Cycle Behind Net Zero

What happens to carbon dioxide after we emit it? Half is absorbed within a year or two by plants and the oceans, the rest, in effect, stays in the atmosphere. So, does that mean we have to halve emissions to stop concentrations rising? Unfortunately, no. Despite the vast reserves of carbon dissolved in the oceans, […]

The Mathematical Life of Sir Christopher Wren

Christopher Wren, who died 300 years ago this year, is famed as the architect of St Paul’s Cathedral. But he was also Gresham Professor of Astronomy, and one of the founders of a society “for the promotion of Physico-Mathematicall Experimental Learning” which became the Royal Society. This lecture explored some of Wren’s mathematical work on […]

Christopher Wren’s Cosmos

Sir Christopher Wren was one of the most remarkable Gresham Professors of Astronomy. Though best known today as the architectural mastermind behind the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire, Wren’s appointment to the Gresham chair in 1657 stemmed from his enthusiasm for turning his gaze well above London’s skyline and focussing his attention on […]

The Ocean Physics Behind Net Zero

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 Why is the deep ocean cold? And why does this matter for global warming? Doing the maths with pipes and plumbing, not computers, we explore how processes that keep the deep oceans at frigid Arctic temperatures also determine how fast the world is warming in response to rising greenhouse gas concentrations […]

Microbial Megastructures

Invisible microbes have created some of the largest structures on the planet. Mycorrhizal fungi form extraordinary subterranean networks that associate symbiotically with plant roots. Most land plants, including many human crops, need mycorrhizae for optimal growth, but recent research has shown they also play important roles in forest-wide communication and may even turn some trees […]

helen the hare

Author: helenthehare

Birth, Life, and Death of the Bohr Model

Island Universes: Discovering Galaxies Beyond the Milky Way