Physics Café Lecture Series Launches With a Bang

On Monday 27th October, St Mary’s University, Twickenham launched the first of its Physics Café lectures; a series of free public talks to encourage more people into physics and technology.

The series kicked off with a presentation on Nanotechnology: Our best friend or worst enemy?, which was delivered by St Mary’s Physics Lecturer Dr Elisabetta Canetta. Nanotechnology has been defined as the third industrial revolution, following the first and second revolutions which saw machinery and steam engines introduced to the manufacturing process.

These three revolutions have achieved the same goal of increasing productivity, economic growth, higher life standards, and the development of new technologies. However the downsides of nanotechnology, such as the toxicity of some of the materials, also need to be considered.

The dates for the remaining lectures are detailed below and will include speakers from the National Physical Laboratory, which partners with the University on its Applied Physics course.

Elisabetta said, “The launch of the Physics Café series of talks was very successful. It was thrilling to see many people from the local community, along with St Mary’s colleagues, attending the talk. The breadth of the audience was impressive, from the very young to the elderly who all came from a variety of backgrounds.

“It was delightful to witness how well the audience engaged with the topic of nanotechnology and its scientific, societal and ethical impact; as shown by the many and diverse questions asked that led to interesting discussions. The feedback that we received was very positive and the audience felt that the level of the talk was fully accessible and allowed people with or without a scientific background to easily follow, understand, and fully enjoy the talk and the discussions that followed.”

For more information about the Physics Café series, please contact Dr Elisabetta Canetta on elisabetta.canetta@stmarys.ac.uk.