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Take a glimpse into a perfectly optimized future and find out how we’re going to build it for ourselves. Hear from the scientists about the ruthlessly efficient, ultra-light cars you’ll be driving, how we’ll use powerful 3D printing to construct incredible objects atom-by-atom and why quantum technologies will revolutionize healthcare, navigation and climate monitoring. NB: All under 18's must be accompanied by an adult.
Let's Talk About Quantum Physics
Quantum physics for most people seems mysterious and detached from reality. Questions such as: Can a particle behave as both a wave and a corpuscle? Does this question even make any sense!? However Quantum physics is a beautiful and intrinsic part of our lives and has transformed our every day existence through computing, internet communication and SMART devices. But do we even understand the basics of it? To truly understand these ideas we'll look at real experiment to highlight some questions behind quantum behaviour in nature and how it can be observed.
3D Printing with Single Atoms
Can we manipulate atoms just like bits of information in a computer? Can we make a device that positions atoms, one by one, to build a table, a computer, or even a building? In other words, can we push 3D printing all the way down to the atomic level? This is the essence of the controversial “molecular manufacturing” concept put forward by Eric Drexler in the 1980s, inspired by Richard Feynman’s thoughts on the ultimate limits of miniaturisation. I’ll discuss Drexler’s ideas in the context of single atom manipulation – a technique at the heart of research in the Nottingham Nanoscience group.
Cars on a diet
In the modern era of transport, efficiency and cost are constantly in trade-offs to improve how we travel. This is arguably most significant in automobiles. A move to
increasingly efficient automobiles is a result of global concern over emissions and the rising running costs of vehicles. There are two main considerations to make vehicles more efficient, how much energy is required to move them and how that energy is transformed into motion. This talk will explore the composition of a vehicle, its weight, and methods to make it lighter within the constraints of safety and functionality.
increasingly efficient automobiles is a result of global concern over emissions and the rising running costs of vehicles. There are two main considerations to make vehicles more efficient, how much energy is required to move them and how that energy is transformed into motion. This talk will explore the composition of a vehicle, its weight, and methods to make it lighter within the constraints of safety and functionality.
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