Hear about measuring the properties of materials that are not just solids or liquids or gases but are all three in one. The soil under your feet is one such material – it is of course a solid with air and water mixed in. Knowing how soil behaves is especially helpful when you intend to build on it! And how soil behaves is even more interesting when you’re trying to build on top land that might be hit by an earthquake.
Dr Mark Haw tells how important are the physical properties of materials. He lectures at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow about “Multi-phase systems” and “Flow response of suspensions and granular media’, so you might not connect that with anything you ever learned. But he’ll be explaining about the fact that his branch of engineering, like many areas of research today, turns out to be a complete mix of disciplines. Dr Haw was in town to give a talk on what ‘life’ consists of, at the Cambridge Science Festival. In this interview you’ll hear him mention the fictional Dr Frankenstein, asking how we might turn a body made of sewed together parts, into a living thing.
Listen to the interview with Dr Mark Haw or listen to the entire broadcast below.
WHAT’S ON
- This year’s Cambridge BioBlitz! started at 5pm on Friday when experts and members of the public raced to count as the species of animals and plants in the grounds of Madingley Hall on the outskirts of Cambridge. www.museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk/events/bioblitz.cambridge.2014
- The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition is happening all week from the 1st to 6th July in London. The ‘exhibition’ of science and technology research includes University of Cambridge teams working on butterfly evolution; tropical storms and star tracks – not to be confused with Star Trek. Throughout the week there are talks, discussions and workshops and at the weekend some great events for children and families. Entry is free. The Science Show’s Dr Chris Creese will be there all week too. http://sse.royalsociety.org/2014/
- Fun lab happens on 5th July from 12 noon – 5pm on Parkers Piece in the middle of Cambridge. People of all ages are invited to enjoy hands-on activities as part of the City Council’s Big Weekend. Find out about fossils, plants and bones to brains, smoothie bikes and pin-hole cameras. Exhibits by University of Cambridge, University Museums and Departments, the Medical Research Council, Cambridge Science Centre and Napp Pharmaceuticals.
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