Category: Science Group

This month we considered the life and work of Leohnard Euler.

Born in Switzerland he was a brilliant mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, engineer, and music theorist.

He is considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians that ever lived.

He wrote a definitive book on teaching Maths and he believed any man or woman can have perfect numeracy.

An activity followed which involved the solving of some algebra problems with varying degrees of success.

It was good to see the group having a go putting to use dormant maths skills learnt in the past.

We finished with a short video about the re-wilding of wolves in Yellowstone USA.

Friday, April 21^st 2023 meeting

We return to the theme of sustainability with a focus on the fashion/clothing industry.

Is it possible for manufacturers to produce high quality, environmentally friendly and sustainable clothing?

How does reusing and recycling material help to reduce the negative impact of cheap throwaway garments?

More information will be sent to group members before the meeting.

David Rose

The first part of our meeting was led by John Tedstone .

Last year John delivered a presentation on the proposed barrage across the Severn Estuary to produce electrical energy from the power of the tides.  This was followed by lively small group discussions on the advantages and disadvantages of such a scheme.

This month he unveiled the ambitious plan to do similar across The Wash linking Hunstanton in Norfolk to the Costa del Skegness in Lincolnshire.

The last time we thought about this topic:   There were good cases for and against building a barrage for energy supply and security

•BUT – we voted unanimously in favour, even though the natural environment and wildlife could be adversely affected

Our question today was – Do we still think the same? Overall we did as the tides are constant and reliable.

Part 2

In part 2 we looked at how we have contributed to some living things becoming extinct and how we can take steps to save some of our endangered species.

This was concluded with a short video of David Attenborough highlighting things we ought to do to protect habitats and the environment for living things including Homo sapiens.

Next Month Friday 17^th March – 10am John Godber Centre

The life and work of: Leonhard Euler (1707–1783 He was a brilliant mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, engineer, and music theorist.

It will include a practical demonstration and a chance for you to try some algebra!

David Rose

At our January meeting we were pleased to welcome two of the academic staff from Nottingham Trent University.

Dr Amy Twigger Holroyd who is an Associate Professor of Fashion and Sustainability in the School of Art & Design. She leads research projects at the intersection of fashion, making, design and sustainability. She also contributes to BA and MA teaching and supervises PhD students.

Dr Katherine Townsend a researcher, educator, practitioner and Professor in Fashion and Textile Practice in the Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear department in the School of Art and Design. She is a PhD supervisor who contributes to postgraduate and undergraduate teaching.

The theme of their presentations was sustainability in fashion and a focus on reusing and reshaping discarded clothing/material. They described some of the research and community projects around reuse and sustainability that they are currently involved in. It was a lively session with lots of interesting questions from the members.

It may be a cliché, but the mantra “buy less and buy better” is key when we consider that a staggering 100 billion garments are being produced globally every year. Before making a purchase, maybe we should ask ourselves three all-important questions:
‘What are you buying and why? What do you really need? Will you wear it at least 30 times?’

Thanks to Christine Vincent for arranging this link with the university.

Friday, 17th February Meeting
John Tedstone will follow up his presentation about the Severn Barrier with a current very ambitious proposal to erect a barrier to produce energy across the Wash.

In part 2, a change of topic when I will go full David Attenborough to consider animal extinction, re wilding and facts about some endangered species.

David Rose

Our final meeting of 2022 was on the Friday 16th December.
Bob McEwen led a group colour blindness test.
Most people with colour vision deficiency have difficulty distinguishing between shades of red, yellow and green. This is known as “red-green” colour vision deficiency. It’s a common problem that affects around 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women. Almost in line with the national average 2 males in our group were shown to have this deficiency.

Bob explained how it is inherited through family genetics. Red-green colour blindness is a sex-linked trait and therefore encoded on the X chromosome. Because women have two X 🙁 XX) and can overcome the handicap of one, men have only one (XY) and are therefore more often affected.

Terry Hill then gave a brief update on the completion of NASA’s Artemis I mission — splashdown was in the Pacific Ocean last Sunday afternoon — this has set up the return of humanity to the Moon and is paving the way onwards to Mars.

The 2nd half of the meeting was a fun science based Christmas themed quiz hosted by the question setters and quiz masters David and Christine Vincent.

The time spent on the preparation of the interactive quiz with its audio and visual effects was much appreciated by the quizzers and we extend our thanks to David and Christine.

Next Meeting: Friday January 20th, 2023 at 10am at the John Godber Centre

David Rose

We had a very interesting session in November starting with a presentation from Terry Hill who told us about the Artemis I rocket which is off to the Moon. However, it will not land on the Moon and is currently in orbit nearby before returning to Earth after 26 days.

He then explained how this could be part of the plan to put humans on Mars. This led to speculation about how physical characteristics of humans living in reduced gravity might evolve in the future.

Bob McEwen followed with a very interesting look at how the eyes (and some other senses) of different animals and birds have evolved and adapted to suit their environment and lifestyles.

And finally, Christine Vincent showed a short video with soundtrack and fantastic images from space telescopes.

December Christmas Meeting – Friday, December 16th 2022, John Godber Centre, 10am to 11.45am
Christmas Science-based Quiz with quiz maestros David and Christine Vincent. A fun quiz with a team prize and festive light refreshments in the break.

We will spend the first 15 minutes for Bob to demonstrate a colour blind test to detect Red-green colour blindness which makes it difficult for someone to differentiate between red, green, and yellow.

David Rose