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Other Durham events

Nuclear Threats and Planetary Collisions

Ground floor venue (with steps to door). Ramp available on request to the side entrance and there are 3 steps down inside the venue to get to the accessible toilets level
Past event - 2019
21 May Doors: 7pm
Start 7:30pm. End: 10pm
The Boat Club, Elvet Riverside,
Durham DH1 3AF

Pint-sized Protection: Safeguarding Cities from Nuclear Threats

Nuclear material that goes missing or is unaccounted for creates a huge challenge for national security in countering Weapons of Mass Destruction; in the wrong hands it poses the risk of being used as a component in so-called “dirty” radioactive bombs, or even nuclear weapons.

I will talk about the science behind how we can detect these radioactive materials even when disguised or shielded, and how state-of-the-art detectors can tell what radioactive substances are present by looking at their nuclear “finger prints”.

When Worlds (Literally) Collide

Our solar system used to be a much more violent place, with many early planets crashing into each other to create the worlds we see today.

I will talk about how we use supercomputer simulations to study these cataclysmic giant impacts, and how a new generation of super-high-resolution models are helping us to tackle unsolved mysteries, including the origin of our own Moon, the formation of Saturn's surprisingly young rings, and how the planet Uranus fell over.
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