| Description | Lecture by John Gribbin 'The Roots of the Royal' on Tuesday 4 October 2005 at 6.30pm
How did a group of scientists who first came together in Oxford during the Parliamentary Interregnum get to establish a Royal Society, in London, almost as soon as Charles II was restored to the throne? John Gribbin, author of The Fellowship , a new history of the scientific revolution and the origin of the Royal Society, argues that it was largely thanks to Robert Moray, a Scot who managed to serve on both sides in the Civil War, acted as a spy for Cardinal Richelieu, and in the words of John Aubrey "had the kings eare as much as any one." He was the man with the Big Idea and the contacts to make it real.
Clifford Patterson Lecture 5 June 2006 'Plastic Fantastic; Electronics for the 21 Century'
By Richard Friend FRS
Plastics - or, more correctly, polymers have traditionally been used by the electronics industry as passive materials, for casing and electrical insulation. Now however, new types of polymers have been discovered which behave as semiconductors. For example, they can emit light when subjected to an electric current, or can be used to make transistors. In this lecture, Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge and a pioneer in the field, will discuss our understanding of the physics of these exciting new polymers, and show how their use is now based on structures akin to those used in biology (for example, in photosynthesis). Through this, we can now use them in a wide range of devices which, from flat flat-screen televisions to printed circuit boards, are set to revolutionise industrial and consumer electronics. |