© Pint of Science, 2024. All rights reserved.
Are you right or left handed? Have you ever wondered why? Nature too is impacted by so called handed-ness and we think you’ll be fascinated by the results. Would you like to learn about how the future of batteries could be more sustainable? Or have you ever thought about how molecules and atoms actually interact? We hope that lasers may be able to shed some light on that! Join us for a captivating evening exploring these questions and be ready to get involved in the mystery of molecules.
Let there be Light!
Dr Adrien Chauvet
(Researcher, Physical Chemistry)
The goal is to show how high power lasers can shine light on how nature works. More specifically, I will show how we can use short bursts of laser light to watch molecules behaves at the atomic level.
Molecules through the looking glass
Professor Jim Thomas
(Professor of Bio-inorganic Chemistry)
Like your hands, the building blocks of nature, molecules, can be mirror images of each other. Life has "chosen" which particular "hand" of building blocks it uses. Why this choice was made is still a mystery, but - through some simple demonstrations involving audience participation - I will show you that this affects how and why medicines work, and changes what we see, taste and smell.
Sustainable Batteries
Dr Rhiannon Kennard
(Researcher, Materials Chemistry)
Curious about batteries? How do they work? How can they be made cheaper? Enjoy a discussion of sustainable batteries with a pint! Most of today's batteries are made from lithium. However, we can also make batteries from sodium - which is found everywhere from the kitchen table to the ocean. Because sodium is so abundant, batteries made from it could be cheaper. I will talk about our work at the University of Sheffield studying how to best make sodium batteries.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.