Café Scientifique Brighton
science for the sociable

Café Scientifique is an international movement

meetings are usually on the Third Tuesday of the month, at 7:30 for 8pm start.
at The Quadrant pub, Queens Road (near Clock Tower) BN1 3GJ

Meetings are FREE (although a contribution to expenses is appreciated)

Tuesday October 21st 2008
Quadrant

Matthew Davidson
(University of Bath)

"Biofuels: Sustainable and Viable Replacements for Fossil Fuels?"

The use of fossil fuels is unsustainable and finding viable alternatives is one of the major technological challenges of the 21st century. I will address some of the scientific and technological issues associated with biodiesel and explore how improvements might be made for future generations of biofuels.

Forthcoming speakers
Tuesday November 18^thQuadrant	Philip Ball (Nature)	“Utopia Theory – the Physics of Society” Are there “laws of society” in the same way as there are laws of physics – inevitable rules that govern the way people behave and organize themselves collectively? And if so, can we use them to find better ways to live? I will show how the social, economic and political sciences stand to benefit from tools and concepts borrowed from a seemingly unlikely source: statistical physics, the science of large numbers of interacting, inanimate particles. I will argue that, in order to understand and perhaps to predict human behaviour, sometimes the social sciences need to worry less about the psychology and idiosyncrasy of individuals and should focus instead on the ways that collective decisions arise spontaneously from interactions between them. These ideas can be applied to phenomena as diverse as traffic flow, economics, voting, and international relations.
Tuesday December 9^th 2008 The Quadrant	Robert Smith (University of Sussex)	"The ultimate fate of the Earth?"
Tuesday January 20^th 2009	Rob Iliffe (University of Sussex)	“Newton” (final title TBA)
Tuesday February 24^th 2009 (Brighton Science Festival)	Jamie Ward (University of Sussex)	“The Frog Who Croaked Blue: Synesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses” As little Edgar Curtis lay on his porch, he remarked to his mother how the noise of the rifle range was black, the chirp of the cricket was red, and the croak of the frog was bluish. Edgar, like many other people, has synesthesia - a fascinating condition in which music can have color, words can have taste, and time and numbers float through space. Everyone will be closely acquainted with at least 6 or 7 people who have synesthesia but you may not yet know who they are because, until very recently, synesthesia was largely hidden and unknown. Now science is uncovering its secrets and the findings are leading to a radical rethink about how our senses are organized.
Tuesday March  17^th	Peter Atkins (University of Oxford)	“The Nature of Energy”
Tuesday April 21^st	Richard Morris (Retired Physics and Maths Teacher)	“The Teaching of Science: Has it Changed over the Years?” The dumbing down of exams has been well publicised but does it apply to all subjects and all levels? More importantly how has the quality of science or engineering graduates for science based industry been affected? I worked as a physicist in various electronic industries and then qualified as a teacher in 1983. I taught physics and maths in secondary schools and independent schools and then electronics in colleges of further education. During this time I have seen at first hand all the changes that have taken place. While there is much to be concerned about, it is not all bad news. We can take a close look at some recent GCSE and A level exams in physics and maths as well as some O level and A level papers from 20 and 50 years ago where we will have plenty of opportunity compare standards for ourselves and maybe even have a go at one or two questions.
Tuesday May 19^th	Tony Book (Riomay Limited)	“The renewables in building: revolution or evolution?”
Tuesday June 16^th	Sian Astley (Institute of Food Research)	“Food Matters” Food labelling - what's it all about? Supplements - do we need them? Food allergies and intolerance - what's the difference and are there more people with them these days? Personalised diets - can we tailor diets to individuals or should we all be eating less and moving more? Siân Astley is the European communications manager for the Institute of Food Research (IFR) and John Innes Centre (JIC, Norwich – UK). Giving up practical research has in no way lessened Siân's interest in science, indeed she continues to think of herself as a research scientist but one who writes and talks about what her colleagues are doing. In her spare time, Siân is an editor for the British Journal of Nutrition and an honorary lecturer for the University of East Anglia.
Tuesday July 21^st	Chris Cocking (London Metropolitan University)	“Crowd Behaviour In Emergencies: Don’t Panic!”

If you have any enquiries please email: Jim Grozier j.r.grozier@btinternet.com 

previous  topics  (going back to March 2004) click

other interesting local meetings    for Philosophy in Pubs see:  Brighton Lit and Phil Catalyst Club

last updated October 10th 2008;  maintained by Paul Tofts www.cafe-scientifique-brighton.org.uk