A musical scale – a hierarchical collection of pitches spread over multiple octaves – is a fundamental building block in the creation of melodies and harmonies in a wide range of musical practices. But where do these scales come from? Are they invented or discovered? This lecture looked at the history, theory and artistry of […]
Read more "The Colour Spectrum of Scales and Modes"There have been two major revolutions in how we look at the sky – the shift beyond the optical to other wavelengths, particularly the radio, and the increasing attention paid to how objects change over time. The talk started with the discovery of pulsars by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, explored how a microwave oven bamboozled astronomers, […]
Read more "Pulsars, Microwave Ovens and the Radio Sky"Many puzzles have a long history, such as water pouring puzzles, where you need to measure (for example) one pint of water equipped only with an eight-pint and a five-pint jug. The mathematics behind the solution has many useful applications. Meanwhile, paradoxes such as: “some men shave themselves; those that do not shave themselves are […]
Read more "Mathematical Puzzles and Paradoxes"In 2017, the Solar System was visited by an object named ‘Oumuamua, which came from another star. The unusual properties of this first interstellar visitor led some to suggest it may be an alien spacecraft – but the truth is that its oddness is already teaching us lessons about how solar systems form. This lecture […]
Read more "‘Oumuamua: Our first interstellar visitor"This lecture presented the rich history of musicians’ engagement with pitch. From the tuning systems of Babylon, Pythagoras and Hindustani ragas, through the temperaments of the Baroque and Classical eras and arriving at contemporary electronic, blues, jazz and global practices, the lecture explored how musicians have organised, sliced and manipulated the pitch continuum for expressive […]
Read more "The Art and Science of Tuning"Climate change is already affecting us all, regardless of where we live, through changing risks of extreme weather events. This lecture took a break from global climate policy to talk about the links between climate and weather, chaos theory and the practical tools available to quantify changing risks. There is a lot we still don’t […]
Read more "How is Climate Change Affecting The Weather Now"Nuclear, radiological and chemical incidents have the potential to cause major harm. The risk of nuclear and radiological events causing health effects can usually be significantly reduced by relatively simple measures, which are based on the properties of the chemicals released, especially at a distance from the incident. Chemicals that can cause harm, such as […]
Read more "Reducing harms after Nuclear, Radiological and Chemical Incidents"On the eve of COP28 in Dubai, is the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C still alive? What does this mean and is it even possible? Given warming has reached 1.25°C, increasing at around ¼°C per decade, what happens if we miss our target? While every tenth of a degree matters, passing 1.5°C does […]
Read more "Why 1.5°C Matters"Millions of us regularly solve Sudoku puzzles. In this lecture, the mathematics behind them was discussed, and the links to other kinds of number grids, like magic squares and so-called Latin squares, which have been studied for centuries. Latin squares have many applications in areas as diverse as experiment design, algebra and coding theory. https://www.gresham.ac.uk/sites/default/files/transcript/2023-11-21_1300_Hart-T%20%28PDF%29.pdf […]
Read more "The Maths of Sudoku and Latin Squares"
helen the hare 