|
|
Where : |
Cornerstone
Arts Centre, Station Road, Didcot, OX11 7NE. |
|
When : |
3rd
Tuesday of the month
- 7pm for a 7.30 start |
| Contact:
|
Alison Adams |
Upcoming Events
|
Date: |
Tuesday 17th August 2010 |
|
Title: |
Carbon dioxide
from fossil fuels – the facts, the fallacies and the unknowns |
|
Speaker: |
Richard
Hotchkiss |
|
Description: |
Why is carbon dioxide produced
when fossil fuels are used? What are the differences between coal, oil, gas and
biomass? Why should we be concerned about the effects of carbon dioxide and
what different technologies can we use to reduce its production and capture it?
Richard Hotchkiss works in
Research & Development for RWE npower, having originally studied chemical
engineering and environmental science (in the days, he says, before the latter
became a respectable academic subject!). He promises that no chemistry
expertise will be needed to consider the issues and participate in the
discussion ... |
Previous Events
|
Date: |
Tuesday 20th July
2010 |
|
Title: |
We live in
a global hotspot ... |
|
Speaker: |
Steve Moss |
|
Description: |
Did you realise that Didcot is
a name known right across the world? Are you aware how important this area is to
UK plc?
Science Vale UK has a vision
that this area should be a global hot spot for enterprise and innovation in
science, high technology and the application of knowledge. Steve Moss, SVUK's
Project Director, will explain how this is being achieved ... |
|
Date: |
Tuesday 18th
May 2010 |
|
Title: |
Art
and astronomy |
|
Speaker: |
Barry Kellett |
|
Description: |
Dr. Barry
Kellett, a Space Scientist/Astronomer at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, has
over 20 years experience of observational astrophysics across the entire
electromagnetic spectrum. Astronomical objects often appear in paintings or
other historical accounts. Such works of art can then be used, by astronomers,
to gain a deeper insight into the artist's mind or location. This talk will
discuss two paintings by van Gogh and two more by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch,
including his famous painting, "The Scream". Astronomy can place van Gogh on an
exact spot about 120 years ago to within about 1 minute! Astronomers can also
date the exact moment that the Roman's invaded Britain and also tell you which
"special" star Shakespeare used in his opening lines of Hamlet... |
|
Date: |
Tuesday
20th
April 2010 |
|
Title: |
Mining
asteroids – the future is out there |
|
Speaker: |
Richard Ghail |
|
Description: |
The world is
full to overflowing: annually by late summer we've used up more than a yearıs
worth of global resources. Economic development and growing populations mean
that demand is spiralling out of control, placing an unsustainable burden on our
planet. Is the only solution to give up our carbon-intensive fossil-fuelled
lifestyles? One alternative has been within our grasp for more than 40 years:
all the resources we could ever wish for are closer to us and easier to obtain
than the Moon was in the sixties. Dr. Richard Ghail, a geologist at Imperial
College London, will explain... |
|
Date: |
Tuesday March 16th |
|
Title: |
Fusion power, from myth to
reality |
|
Speaker: |
Chris Warrick |
|
Description: |
With fossil fuel reserves
dwindling
 and environmental concerns over the emission of greenhouse gases, the
search for alternative energy sources is becoming a prominent social
issue.A world-wide research programme is
studying the viability of nuclear fusion - the process that powers the Sun
- as a future energy source - offering essentially unlimited energy
supplies with no greenhouse gas emissions and short lived radio-activity
compared to fission.
The world's largest magnetic confinement fusion
experiment and European flagship facility, JET, has been operating at the
Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire for twenty five years and has
successfully demonstrated some 16MW of fusion energy. Work on JET and other
devices around the world has helped to design ITER -an international machine
that will produce 500MW of fusion power and act as a single stepping-stone
to commercial power. |
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