Author: Richard Hornby

Science this week – elemental creation and radioactivity

Richard Hornby

Science in the North-East this week is headed up on Thursday by the Institute of Physics North East Branch’s annual Gareth Roberts Memorial Lecture, held at Newcastle University in memory of the branch’s former Secretary. This year’s talk is by Dr. Marialuisa Aliotta from Edinburgh University, whose talk “A journey through stellar lives” will ask questions such as “Where do elements come from?”, “How and where were they created?” and “Why do some stars explode while others die away almost unnoticed?” This talk will be fantastic for people of all ages who have an interest in the stars, the night sky, and the Universe.
The second half of this week also contains the opening of signups to my annual “Radioactivity” workshop. More details about this will be in a separate post, however it will be held in Durham on Saturday, 1 March 2014. Three groups (one focusing on A-level work, one on the requirements for GCSE, and a final “general interest” group) will examine what radiation actually is, how it behaves and what it can be used for, before seeing some radioactive sources in action first-hand. The sessions are all very enjoyable, and should provide a real insight into radioactivity.
Also, for people who missed them last week, or are eager for more, there are a few more Stargazing Live activities in our region:

Skylights, Wynyard Planetarium, Friday
Stargazing at Saltholme, Saturday FULLY BOOKED
Rosetta Space Night, Centre for Life, Monday

And finally, I was looking on the internet this week, and I found this:
Thanks to MinutePhysics, we have a lovely explanation of why Euler’s Paradox isn’t a paradox at all – really useful for A2 students around this time! (source)

Charity fundraiser – Great Winter Run

Richard Hornby

Update: 12 January 2014 – I did it!
I did it! I completed my charity run in Edinburgh yesterday. It was really cold and breezy on Arthur’s Seat, but I kept going, and even better, managed to to a bit of a sprint finish! I had aimed to finish the race in 30 minutes, but on the big day actually managed to complete the course in 28 minutes and 30 seconds – a whole 4 minutes faster than I have ever run 5k in my life. I even finished in the top half of the field! This just goes to show that with practice, hard work and dedication, it’s possible to achieve great things… and this goes for exams as well as running.
A quick reminder that it’s still possible to add to my sponsorship for the Fibromyalgia Association UK, and will be possible to do so until the 11th April. The website is at www.justgiving.com/mildertduck , or by texting DUCK85 £2 to 70070.
Finally, a big THANK YOU to all those of you who have donated – it really means a lot and, hopefully, sometime soon we’ll be able to say that we’ve conquered Fibromyalgia too!
As to what’s next: preparing my students for their exams and working on the workshop and summer schools programme 🙂
Original post, 9 January 2014 – Pre-race
I am running the Bupa Great Winter Run in Edinburgh this weekend for the Fibromyalgia Association UK.  This post contains a bit of information about why I’m running, what I’m running, and, if you’re interested, how to sponsor me.
What is Fibromyalgia?
According to FMA UK, Fibromyalgia is

” […] a chronic condition of widespread pain and profound fatigue. The pain tends to be felt as diffuse aching or burning, often described as head to toe. It may be worse at some times than at others. It may also change location, usually becoming more severe in parts of the body that are used most.
The fatigue ranges from feeling tired, to the exhaustion of a flu-like illness. It may come and go and people can suddenly feel drained of all energy – as if someone just “pulled the plug”.
Fibromyalgia is a common illness. In fact, it is more common than rheumatoid arthritis and can even be more painful.” (Fibromyalgia Association UK, 2014)
Fibromyalgia is surprisingly common, officially more so that rheumatoid arthritis, affecting just under 5% of the population: in fact, I know three people who have been diagnosed with the condition.
The problem with fibromyalgia, though, is that although a relatively large number of people suffer from it, very little is understood about it.  The medical reason for the condition is at best unclear, and, at the moment, a cure is non-existent. The only course of action open to sufferers is management, often involving dramatic lifestyle changes and large amounts of pain medication.
FMA UK have two main roles: to raise awareness of fibromyalgia, and also to provide support and guidance to suffers, while monitoring and encouraging current research into the condition – which I hope that you will agree are all worthwhile aims!
Me and running
…or more to the point, me and not running.  When I was at school, I was one of the people who routinely avoided sport.  I was always last or second-last in everything, and would much rather find myself more useful as… commentator and scorer on Sports Day, as opposed to being in the team.
So, what changed?  Well, firstly, I moved to Durham, with its hills, which demanded a certain level of fitness – and when I had to take a break climbing Gilesgate Bank, and could only do one dance at a ceilidh without getting out of breath, I knew something had to change – so I started to exercise, using the NHS Couch to 5k programme as my guide.  It was about half way through this that I decided to actually do something useful, and do a charity run – and my Great Winter Run challenge was born.
The Run
The Bupa Great Winter Run is a 5k run, around Holyrood Park (and Arthur’s Seat!) in Edinburgh. It is run at the same time as the Edinburgh International XCountry races, which are televised on BBC1.  The course consists of one 5k lap of the park, with a 2km long, 122m high climb in the middle of the route – so it isn’t simple.  See below for more details of the course!
Sponsoring me
If you’ve managed to read this far through the post, you’re probably thinking about sponsoring me.  There are three ways to do this:

Go to www.justgiving.co.uk/mildertduck, where you’ll find a purple “donate” button to click.
Text the words “DUCK85 £2” (or any amount of your choice, £1/£2/£3/£4/£5/£10) to 70070
Find me in person, and give me your sponsorship in cash, and I will add you to the JustGiving page myself.

Both myself, the volunteers at FMA UK, and fibromyalgia sufferers everywhere thank you for your support.
Follow me LIVE
Hopefully, I’ve managed to configure my phone such that it will be sending live tracking data for the duration of the run to this website.  There are no guarantees, and if the tracking link fails, I’m not going to stop running to fix it!  If you’d like to attempt to watch the live tracking, please go to mallard-days.com/5k – you can also tweet messages of support to @MallardDaysRun.

Charity Run

Richard Hornby

Every year, Richard does at least one Charity 5k Run.  In 2015, as 2014, this was the Great Winter Run, around Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, on SATURDAY 10 JANUARY 2015.
This year, he ran and collected money for the Prince of Wales’ Hospice in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.  One of our team members’ grandparents was looked after by the Hospice in the months leading up to her death several years ago, and the work that they do in looking after the elderly and infirm is second to none.
In spite of horrific conditions, 30mph+ winds, and driving snow and hail, Richard completed the 5 kilometre course in 29 minutes and 36 seconds.  Although slower than his personal best, this was a very good run in the circumstances!
So the final results are in – in time order, I was 935th, with a time of 29 minutes and 36 seconds, so only 1 minute 15 seconds from my PB… which is some achievement, given that at two points (approaching Dunsapie Loch, and the cutting) the headwind was so strong it was blowing me backwards, and that the last 1.5km was run in hail which horrible visibility (couldn’t actually see the finish line until I was almost on it!).
Big credit to the organisers and volunteer marshalls – standing still in that wind and weather must have been horrible.

If you’d still like to make a sponsorship donation for the Prince of Wales’ Hospice, please have a look at the details below. Big thanks too to everyone who has donated already!

To donate:

please visit www.pwh.org.uk/richard-hornby-edinburgh-winter-run
Text DURH86 £5 (or an amount of your choice) to 70070.
or if you would prefer to donate offline, email Richard at run@mallard-days.com.

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Science this week – stargazing and more

Richard Hornby

This week brings us Stargazing Live on BBC TV.  In three episodes, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, Dara O’Briain and Brian Cox discuss the northern lights, being an astronaut, and looking for undiscovered galaxies.  All of the TV episodes start at 9pm on BBC2.
Unfortunately, this year, the BBC haven’t chosen to run an event in the North East.  However, a large number of local astronomical societies have stepped up to the plate, running events as follows:

Northumberland Astronomical Society – Wednesday at Doxford Hall, Alnwick SOLD OUT
Bishop Auckland Astronomical Society – Thursday at Mickleton Village Hall, near Barnard Castle
Sunderland Astronomical Society – Friday and Saturday at Washington Wildlife Centre
Cleveland and Darlington Astronomical Society – Friday at Wynyard Planetarium
South Shields Astronomical Society – Saturday at Souter Lighthouse
RSPB Saltholme – Saturday at RSBP Salthome

Of course, if you’re thinking of going to any of these, please check with the venue (linked where possible!) before you set off, because as with all astronomical events, they can be very weather dependent!
Finally, from the internet…
I was looking on the internet, and found this video.  Taken from BBC’s “Science Club” series, it provides a brief history of Physics in just over four minutes – great for that coffee break! (Source details)

PS. Please remember that there are no scheduled tuition sessions from 11am on Friday 10 January until 4.30pm on Monday 13 January!