TUSLIP day of Physics
September 29th, 2009
Our Advanced Higher students joined a hundred or more from the local area at the University of Dundee today for a day of Physics. We arrived in time for the start of the practical investigations, despite the bus not showing up (we jumped into the car and drove up). These were not mind blowing at all, but we did get a chance to do something with real equipment in a real teaching laboratory.
Dr. Paul Prentice
This was followed by a real lecture from Dr. Paul Prentice on sound waves. His lecture was pitched (his joke, not mine) at the right level for the audience and included a simple demonstration, using tuning forks, of beat frequencies and interference. Students were able to respond to questions and were not short of some good questions themselves.
The simulations – java applets – he used in the lecture are available from the National Taiwan Normal University.
We stopped for lunch and some demonstrations, both put on by the university. I especially liked the infra-red camera which gave me scientific evidence that compared to my face, I have a cool tie.
Using Optical Tweezers
The afternoon was dedicated to four very useful talks – we thought they were too short – on the practical applications of Physics and how Physics in your degree can lead you to some fascinating and rewarding career paths. The first talk from Dr. David McGloin focused on climate change and how lasers are used in tackling this and in other areas of scientific application. His reference to optical tweezers was picked up by Dr. Andrew MacKay who threw us the fastest ball of the day – that photons have no mass but they do have momentum. He went on to explain and demonstrate how light is used to move physical objects by conservation of momentum and refraction.
Dr. Jane Greaves gave us a great talk on astrophysics, brilliantly illustrated with images from Hubble and other telescopes. She talked in particular about the birth, life and death of stars as well as the formation of planets and the new discoveries of extra-solar planets, down to sizes of two Earth masses. She asked us to look up Olbers’ paradox as an example of the big puzzles that Physics helps us to solve.
The day finished with Dr. Maria-Ana Cataluna describing how Physics is at the heart of everything: the skills it gives you include:
- numeracy
- problem solving
- communication skills
- computing skills
- teamwork and flexibility
all of which are in high demand by employers. She directed us in particular to the Institute of Physics careers website for further information. Two others good for information on graduate careers are http://www.prospects.ac.uk and http://www.brightrecruits.com/.
A great day out, apart from the parking ticket. Don’t ask.
Categories: Advanced Higher Physics | Tags: AH, dundee, Physics, StAndrews, TUSLIP | 1 Comment
