Main >  Outreach

Physics in the Skatepark

Cisco Gooding (University of Nottingham, UK) and Sam Patrick (University of British Columbia, Canada) hosted a physics outreach event at the University of British Columbia, to celebrate North America's first on-campus skatepark and stimulate community interest in physics research. Following a discussion session engaging with the locals, covering a variety of topics from black hole superradiance to the Unruh effect, the duo hosted a tour of the skatepark, illustrating the highs and lows of surfing the concrete wave.

Time traveling quantum technology

The development of photography is a manifestation and reflection of technological advances. Our perception of past, present and future are shaped through still and moving images. With the birth of Quantum Technology, which uses quantum physics to enhance computation, simulation, sensing and telecommunication, we are entering a new technological era. We return to the beginnings of photography by transporting state-of-the art quantum technology back in time to the industrial age. Nick Botterill’s work seeks to separate the spectator from modern day technology, instilling an experience of perpetual technological evolution through the lens of the 19th century.

Dr. Nick Botterill is the Senior Technical Manager and Facilities Manager in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham, and also has a passion for vintage photographic techniques. As "450 nm Photography", Nick uses his collection of antique plate cameras in combination with the Wet Plate Collodion technique to create unique imagery, particularly relating to portraiture and scientific equipment.

The Wet Plate Collodion method was developed in 1851 as the first truly “instant” and affordable form of photography. Commonly known as Tintype or Ferrotype photography, this process utilises a blackened sheet of metal sensitised with Silver salts of Iodine and Bromine, predominantly sensitive to UV-light with a wavelength of 450nm. The images are processed whilst still wet, which Nick achieves using his purpose-built mobile darkbox, then varnished to produce truly unique pieces of art of archival quality.

Art-Science Exhibition

The combination of deep fundamental-science goals and cutting-edge technology puts our team in a natural position to communicate to the general public the excitement and importance of fundamental research. We will aim to achieve this through an ambitious interactive Science-Art exhibition. The exhibition will be part of Lakeside, the University of Nottingham’s public arts and culture programme, which attracts 200,000 visitors annually. Our installation will be a free visitor experience supported by a series of learning activities, including digitally-captured lunchtime talks and community workshops targeting families and schools. The InterActive Universe Science-Art Exhibition will feature three main installations:

• Witness with your own eyes some of the wonderfully bizarre features of black holes, such as light bending and ringdown, in the Black Hole Bathtub.
• Become a Multiverse Observer with our multi-video and sound installation that transports the spectator to the beginning of the Universe
• Build your own Neutron Star simulator in the LEGO Neutron Star Creator Lounge, where children of all ages can experience life in the laboratory whilst finding out about some of the spectacular effects that occur around Neutron stars.