2021 July Lectures in Physics

Now in their 53rd year, the July Lectures in Physics are a series of free public lectures aimed at giving an insight into fundamental questions in physics.  Held every Friday evening throughout July, this year's lectures will highlight the significant power of collaboration.

You can also view recordings of past July Lectures

People in art space

Breakthroughs in Physics through Collaboration

Now in their 53rd year, the July Lectures in Physics are a series of free public lectures aimed at giving an insight into fundamental questions in physics.  Held every Friday evening throughout July, this year's lectures will highlight the significant power of collaboration.

Dr Suzie SheehyInsights from the pioneers of nuclear and quantum physics

In the early 20th century the idea of the atom as an indivisible entity was overthrown and replaced with the idea of subatomic particles, quantum mechanics and a complex view of reality that no-one had predicted. But how did we actually discover this view of reality?

In this talk we a explore a series of key experiments behind this transition. From the cathode ray tubes and instruments on hot air balloons, to cloud and bubble chambers and enormous particle accelerators.

Through this talk, Dr Suzie Sheehy will showcase the stories of the people who made these experiments happen, from Nobel-prize winners to the lesser-known “scanning girls”. We will explore how working across disciplinary, cultural and societal boundaries led to discoveries which changed our understanding of physics, and our world, forever.

Friday July 2 at 6.30pm

Associate Professor Duane HamacherIndigenous Astronomy, Science and Truth-Telling

Indigenous Knowledge represents complex systems of dynamic inquiry based on millennia of observation, deduction, interconnection, and wisdom. Within these globally diverse systems, elders continually reiterate that what is above is below: everything on the land is reflected in the sky. The canopy of stars serves as a map, a scientific text, a lawbook, and a mnemonic.

In this talk, Associate Professor Duane Hamacher will illustrate examples of this taught by elders from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia, as well as First Cultures across the globe and see the many layers of scientific information  encoded within.

Friday July 9 at 6.30pm

Dr Elizabeth HindeThe physical architecture of biology

Inside the nucleus of a human cell there is approximately 2 m of DNA folded into a three-dimensional (3D) network and yet intriguingly, only 2 % percent of this DNA is made up of protein-coding genes. The other 98% is noncoding and we still do not know exactly what it does. In recent years a consensus has emerged that noncoding DNA is involved in orchestrating spatial rearrangements in the 3D structure of DNA to turn protein coding genes on and off.

Directly observing this is in a living cell is an immense challenge because DNA structure is well below the diffraction limit of optical microscopy. But thanks to physics breakthroughs, the mysteries of DNA  are no longer invisible.

Dr Elizabeth Hinde will show how physics allows us to uncover in real time the spatial reorganisation of the DNA network that seems to be serving as an epigenetic layer of control for gene expression.

Friday July 16 at 6:30 pm 

Prof Geoff TaylorHow International Collaboration enables Fundamental Physics Breakthrough

As the science of the fundamental building blocks of our universe has evolved, so has the need for larger and larger “atom smashing” machines. The now famous Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN would not have been possible without a highly collaborative approach to big science.

The difficulty of developing and maintaining international cooperation of the scale and timeline characterising the LHC is daunting. It involves continued efforts from scientists, through laboratory and funding agencies, to the highest levels of governments and intergovernmental organisations. All the while, high levels of communication of the needs and benefits of such projects amongst the community is paramount.

This talk will present the ups and downs of building highly collaborative giant particle colliders, past, present and future. Professor Geoff Taylor brings a career of personal experience of such projects to the talk.

Friday July 23 at 6:30 pm  Register now

Prof David JamiesonAhead of their time – Revolutionary discoveries in Physics made too soon

Oliver Heaviside prematurely discovered a fundamental result of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity in 1888 nearly twenty years before Einstein. Ida Noddak explained anomalous results from Enrico Fermi’s experiments as evidence for nuclear fission, but her explanation was dismissed as ridiculous for nine years before it was accepted as correct.

Through this lecture, Professor David Jamieson will look at advances in physics that were ahead of their time and asks: can we identify the premature discoveries of the present day that may shape the future? To find them, should we be looking for a ‘lone genius’ or is scientific creativity more complex than that?

Friday July 30 at 6:30 pm  Register now


You can also view recordings of past July Lectures

More Information

Dr Suzie Sheehy

suzie.sheehy@unimelb.edu.au