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The science behind cartoons & Manchester through the eyes of John Dalton
IOP
PR39(07)
Fri, 19 October 2007
The streets of Manchester will be buzzing with science this week as the Manchester Science Festival kicks off. The institute of Physics (IOP) has been helping ensure that this inaugural festival gets off to a flying start.
On the first day of the festival, Saturday October 20, Printworks held an interactive session for kids and parents about the science behind cartoons. Science Made Simple and the Institute of Physics (IOP) brought the show to Manchester which revealed just how close the impossible in cartoons is to the possible in real science.
Wiley Coyote, Sylvester the Cat and Bugs Bunny regularly defy death when they fall off cliffs, get blown up by cartoon bombs or are frazzled by electric charges. While these things look impossible, the Science Made Simple team showed that occasionally scientific truth is just as strange as fiction.
David Price from Science Made Simple, said: “Cartoons provide a great vehicle for understanding science and can throw up lots of surprises. Explaining how objects change shape and return to their original shape, or what really happens when things combust or explode, makes science fun and illuminating for all ages.”
Few cities have benefited from scientific advances quite like Manchester and that is why the Institute of Physics (IOP) has helped devise a walking tour of the city centre. Anyone can download the free MP3 at www.scienceplaces.org to see the city through the eyes of John Dalton, Manchester’s own father of atomic theory. The MP3’s script was compiled by John V. Pickstone and James Sumner from the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM) at the University of Manchester.
Louise Butcher, IOP’s Regional Officer in the North West, said: “John Dalton, James Prescott Joule, Ernest Rutherford and James Chadwick are luminaries of the science world and they all spent crucial parts of their career in this great city.
“The festival provides an opportunity for people to connect with important science of the day and revel in the fundamental role that Manchester has played in advancing science.”
Manchester’s Science Festival includes a wide range of events for those with a general interest and specialists alike. Events will be exploring themes such as the science of our planet - how science helps make sense of phenomenon like climate change; the science behind our understanding of mind and body; the science of everyday gadgets, and much more.
Notes to editors:
1. For further information about Cartoon Science, the Walking Tour, or the Institute of Physics, or for pictures of the Science Made Simple team in action, please contact:
Joe Winters, Press Officer, Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London. W1B 1NT
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7470 4815
Mobile: 07946 321473
E-mail: joseph.winters@iop.org
2.Manchester Science Festival runs between 20-28 October and is coordinated by the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). There will be more than 100 events at venues throughout the city which aim to inspire everyone about science, technology and engineering. You’ll be able to go on a city walk, make music, play with robots, debate controversial issues, go to special talks and film screenings, and more!
All the events in the festival are related to six themes:
- ‘Manchesticity' - the city's endeavours, achievements, people, places and ideas
- Mind & Body - activities and topics about our brains and brawn
- Planet - exploring our impact on and use of the earth, and looking into space
- Extra-Ordinary - the science, technology and engineering of the everyday
- Past, Present, Future - looking forward and back in time
- Lifestyle - the science of all things fun - food, shopping, sport, music, and more!
For more information look up www.manchestersciencefestival.com or www.manchestersciencefestival.blogspot.com
Manchester Science Festival is supported by the North West Development Agency and Englands Northwest
3. The Institute of Physics is a scientific membership organisation devoted to increasing the understanding and application of physics. It has an extensive worldwide membership (currently over 34,000) and is a leading communicator of physics with all audiences from specialists through government to the general public. Its publishing company, Institute of Physics Publishing, is a world leader in scientific publishing and the electronic dissemination of physics and the electronic dissemination of physics.
4. The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine CHSTM is an academic research centre within the University of Manchester. It is home to one of the largest groups in the history of science, technology and medicine (HSTM) and science communication studies in the UK, serving as a focus for the discipline in North West England and beyond. CHSTM maintains a vigorous programme of public activities, a key feature of which is its focus on the scientific and industrial heritage of the city and region.
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