E=mc² The Story of the Universe

2005 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PHYSICS PROGRAMME

It is true we are stardust, the atoms in our body forged over billions of years in first and second generation stars. The heavier atoms in our bodies fused in the final death throes of supernova, which light up the universe with their monstrous power. The ashes cast into interstellar space, until gravity’s silent hand again sweeps them in. E=mc²: The Story of the Universe… of light and of life.

Over the course of 2005 the Royal Society of New Zealand, along with other organisations, hosted a number of events celebrating the three major insights into the workings of the Universe published by Albert Einstein 100 years ago in 1905.

EVENTS

Are Angels OK? Events were held around this ongoing collaboration between physicists and writers on 14-18 November, 2005, Wellington

Einstein 2005 lecture series, Wellington

Circa Theatre Play on New Zealand cosmologist Beatrice Tinsley, 10 September – 8 October, Wellington

Lecture tour by Professor Malcolm Longair

Lecture tour by Professor Carl Wieman

Using the History of Brownian Motion to Teach Physics – Mick Nott lecture tour, 1-10 August

Professor Gerry Gilmore lecture tour 19 - 26 July

New Zealand Institute of Physics Conference, 13-15 July, Auckland

E=mc² lecture series, 4 May-15 June

Canterbury Museum lecture series, 3 May-7 June, Christchurch

Tour by Nasa’s Bob Mitchell, 19-30 April, Wellington, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Napier, Hamilton, Auckland

8-24 March, visit by Professor Frank Close, Oxford University. Professor Close was a guest of Massey University in Palmerston North; he also visited Auckland, Hamilton (11 March), Wellington (lecture on 16 March), Nelson (Rutherford’s birthplace) 18 March, Dunedin (21 March) and Christchurch (22 March).

Beginning 7 March (7.30pm), Of Stars and Standing Stones, the first in a series of astronomy courses to be held in Science House, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington. Suitable for any interested adult, layperson or amateur astronomer.  Inquiries, phone Kay Leather 04 385 2349, evenings.

1 March, presentation at Parliament on Australian/NZ plans to bid for $Euro billion contract to build the world’s largest radio telescope, spanning 5,000km from Western Australia to New Zealand.  Presenters:  Professor Brian Boyle (Australian National Telescope Facility), Professor Geoff Austin (University of Auckland), and Professor John Hearnshaw (University of Canterbury).

7-22 February, series of lectures at the Canterbury Arts Centre, Christchurch, organised by the University of Canterbury Department of Physics and Astronomy:
- Monday 7 February 7.00pm. Elizabeth Wylie Introduction: Einstein’s life and his theory of special relativity
- Wednesday 9 February 7.00pm. Pauline Harris   A history of Maori science and physics in New Zealand
- Sunday 13 February 1.00pm. Ben Carter  The photoelectric effect and quantum mechanics
- Sunday 20 February 1.00pm. Suruj Seunarine  Brownian motion and the existence of atoms
- Tuesday 22 February 7.00pm. Duncan Wright  The Big Bang, Einstein’s greatest blunder

16 February, BBC4 Science journalist Quentin Cooper meets Year 13 boys at Nelson College, and chairs discussion at local Branch of the Royal Society, 16 February.

12 February, Nobel Laureate Professor Alan MacDiarmid opens Stonehenge Aotearoa, near Carterton, and launches NZ programme for 2005 World Year of Physics (E=mc² The Story of the Universe). Dedicated website on the genealogy of physics, from ancient Greece to current work in New Zealand, www.e-equals-mc2.com,  also launched.  Both Stonehenge Aotearoa and the website are part-funded by the government’s Science and Technology Promotion Fund.

6-11 February, MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology AMN2 Conference in Queenstown.