The Power of Super Symmetry: exact results in field and string theories
He will take a tour through string theory and supersymmetric field theories and concentrate on quantities which can be calculated exactly.
The theories he explores are similar to the one describing subatomic particles (known as the standard model of particle physics), but not identical.
Though at a superficial level they look very complicated (in particular more complicated than the standard model), they have some hidden beauty.
This allows one to perform calculations, like the strength of the force
between charged particles exactly - at arbitrary distance and arbitrary strength of the coupling constant.
In fact, we have several very different ways of viewing these theories and where the same physical quantity is expressed as different questions, but we indeed find from them identical answers.
Event Title: The Power of Super Symmetry: exact results in field and string theories. Speaker(s): Dr. Nadav Drukker (Kings College London). Organised by: IOP in Scotland. Requires registration: No. Contact details: Robert Thomson
Email: R.R.Thomson@hw.ac.uk.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 7:35 PM – 9:05 PM.
Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ.
The Aerodynamics and Flight Performance of Insects
Mankind has been airborne for over one hundred years and advances in aeronautics during that time have been immense.
Yet despite our wealth of knowledge in fundamental and applied
aerodynamics we are still unable to recreate the performance exhibited by flying animals.
Needless to say, they have had quite some head start over us. In the 350 million years since insects first took flight, Natural Selection has diversified a common ancestor that most resembled a modern day dragonfly into countless species and the rich assortment of shapes and sizes we see today - each one locally optimized and tuned for the tasks that define its ecological niche.
Familiar trade-offs between, say, stability and manoeuvrability can be found, but in this small-scale, unsteady world, aerodynamic mechanisms we deem unconventional are, in fact, commonplace and traditional aircraft design practices are often rejected.
The lecture will highlight some of the peculiarities found in insect flight, illustrating these exampl…
Event Title: The Aerodynamics and Flight Performance of Insects. Speaker(s): Dr. Richard Bomphrey, University of Oxford. Organised by: IOP in Scotland. Requires registration: No. Contact details: Robert Thomson
Email: R.R.Thomson@hw.ac.uk.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ.
Seniors Group Lunchtime Rendezvous Edinburgh
This Lunchtime Rendezvous is primarily a social occasion for the Seniors Group, which consists of coffee, two lectures and lunch. The talks are intended to be of interest to all.
The cost is given on the Booking Form and includes coffee and a four course lunch with wine.
Non Members are most welcome to attend. Please note that the completed Booking Form must be received by the Seniors Group Coordinator by Thursday the 15 March 2012.
Booking form: http://www.iopscotland.org/events/info/file_53526.doc (Word, 104 KB)
Programme (PDF, 77 KB): http://www.iopscotland.org/events/info/file_53524.pdf
Lunch menu (PDF, 18 KB): http://www.iopscotland.org/events/info/file_53523.pdf
Map (PDF, 80 KB): http://www.iopscotland.org/events/info/file_53525.pdf.
Event Title: Seniors Group Lunchtime Rendezvous Edinburgh. Organised by: IOP in Scotland. Requires registration: Yes. Contact details: Dr J Higinbotham CPhys FInstP FAIP
12 (1F2) Bruntsfield Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH10 4EA
Tel: +44 (0) 131 229 7725
Email: john.higinbotham@physics.org.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Clubhouse, Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College, Inverleith Playing Fields, 523 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DW.