Lancashire and Cumbria

Branch events

Abstract: “Granular materials exhibit a spectacular variety of unusual and unpredictable physical properties. Their bulk behaviour is different from conventional solid, liquid and gaseous matter. For example, a pile of free-flowing beach sand, with some moisture content added, could acquire a different level of bulk strength, enabling children to build solid-like sand castles and other creative structures.

Establishing a clear understanding of the influence of particle-scale properties on the bulk physical behaviour of powders and grains is vital to a range of industrial applications, for example in nuclear, pharmaceutical, powder processing and geotechnical industries. Here I present fundamental features of force transmission pathways in dense particulate assemblies subjected to mechanical and electrostatic loading conditions. I will show that particulate systems tend to have a class of hidden structures across their overall load-transmitting contacts. The signature of this contact force network (memory network) seems to dictate the macroscopic shear strength in particulate systems. Further, the distribution of force network tends to induce solid particles of relatively big sizes to mechanically behave like equivalent liquid matter in dense packing. We will speculate [1] on how best we could tune force networks in particulate systems to control shear strength of particulate assemblies in different engineering applications having micron and nano scale particles.”         

February 13 2008
University of Central Lancashire, Preston                            
Topic:  The Faith of Physicist
Speaker: Rev. Dr John Polkinghorne KBE FRS

Abstract: "Scientists are 'bottom-up' thinkers, seeking truth by moving from evidence to motivated understanding. They know that sometimes this process leads to results that are surprising and even, initially, counterintuitive. The talk will adopt a similar bottom-up approach to questions of religious belief”

March 12 2008
University of Central Lancashire, Preston    
Topic: History at a Gallop – The Complete 60 year History of AWE in about as many minutes.
Speaker Ms Kate Pyne, Atomic Weapons Establishment

March 14 2008
Workshop - Fun primary school physics for you to take into schools
Speaker: Mrs Ann Marks, Physics Education Consultant Physicists in Primary Schools Project

March 31 2008
Lancaster University
Cavendish Lecture Theatre
Topic: Mysterious Messengers from the Heart of the Sun - Solar Neutrinos
Speaker Professor David Wark FRS, Imperial College and Particle Physics Division, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Professor Wark played a leading role in the highly successful Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) experiment in Canada which made major contributions to untangling the solar neutrino puzzle.

Currently he is the co-spokesperson of the T2K neutrino oscillations collaboration in Japan, a consortium of about 350 physicists from over 60 institutions worldwide. The goal of T2K is to observe the mixing of different neutrino types using a low energy neutrino beam, produced at the Japanese Hadron Facility at Tokai, and aimed at the Super-Kamiokande underground neutrino observatory located 295km away.

There is a possibility that CP violation may be observed for the first time in the neutrino sector of the standard model, which may be of some relevance to understanding the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe. Physicists from Lancaster are actively involved in T2K.

This talk will be preceded by the presentation of prizes to the top four A-Level Physics students in the branch’s area.

Physics in Primary Schools

30 April 2008 - Workshop - Fun primary school physics for you to take into schools

Speaker: Mrs Ann Marks Physics Education Consultant Physicists in Primary Schools Project
Venue: Lancaster University, Bowland North, Seminar Room 10, from 18:00 to 21:00

To register or for more details please contact Ann Marks at wipg@amarks.co.uk

This free workshop is for anyone interested whether they have previous experience of visiting primary schools or not.

The Physicists in Primary Schools team is from the University of Sheffield, Department of Physics and Astronomy and has EPSRC funding. We have developed 10 fun presentations for physicists to take into primary schools which are on the Institute of Physics website and are free to download. Each presentation supports the teaching of physics at Key Stages 1 and 2 with demonstrations and activities that are described in detail on the website. Feedback is very encouraging and emphasises that presentations are fun for the presenters as well as the children. Primary aged children are enthusiastic and eager to take part!

During the workshop I will demonstrate many of the activities as well as providing opportunities for you to try numerous experiments and for discussion of your concerns.

2008 Lecture Programme (provisional)

Unless otherwise advertised, talks start at 18:30 with light refreshments from 18:00

7 May 2008
Lancaster University, George Fox Lecture Theatre
Topic:Cosmic Rays and Global Warming
Speaker: Professor Terry Sloan, Lancaster University

May 21 2008 AGM
University of Central Lancashire
Topic:  Recent Results from Cassini at Saturn
Speaker: Prof Michele K Dougherty, Imperial College London

The Cassini spacecraft has been in orbit at Saturn for almost 4-years.  Some of the most exciting recent results will be discussed with a particular focus on Enceladus - a small moon at Saturn from which water vapour plumes emanate from cracks at the south pole.

June 11 2008

Lancaster University

Topic: Nano Mechanical and Electric Devices                   

Speaker: Dr Colin Lambert

^ To the top ^