Science this week – elemental creation and radioactivity

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:

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)