Above is a montage of some title pages for lectures which I have developed as part of "Reach for the Stars" - a project funded initially by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. All lectures have been prepared in PowerPoint, and many are available (with accompanying notes) for download. Click here for a complete list of presentations.
If you are interested in arranging a lecture at your School, or gaining web access to copies of the lectures, email martin@astro.gla.ac.uk
Talks aimed particularly (but not exclusively!) at secondary schools' physics students are:-
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How do rockets work in space?
Newton's laws of motion and gravity; Gravity in Einstein's universe; Future space travel: solar sails and fusion rockets; Black holes, hyperspace and warp drive?.... |
Standard grade
Higher grade Advanced Higher |
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Is there Anybody Out There? |
Life in the Solar System: Greenhouse effect,
tides
Extra-Solar Planets: making stars 'wobble' Doppler effect; the Bohr atom; atomic spectra Detecting Earth-like planets using spectra SETI: the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence |
Standard grade Higher grade Advanced Higher |
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of the Universe |
How planets move - before and after Copernicus
Galileo's telescopes, Kepler's laws and Newton's gravity Measuring planetary distances: Pythagoras at work Measuring the speed of light using marshmallows! Atomic spectra and extra-solar planets |
Standard grade Higher grade Advanced Higher |
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Energy from the Sun: Solar flares and Solar storms
Forming stars and planets: gas pressure and gravity Hydrogen fusion: fuelling the Sun's nuclear furnace When the fuel runs out: red giants and white dwarfs Supernovae explosions: putting the Iron in Irn Bru! |
Higher grade
Advanced Higher |
| Light in Lumps or Ripples | Newton's early ideas about light; reflection and refraction
Measuring the speed of light Young's slits and the interference of light The ultraviolet catastrophe and the Bohr atom The photoelectric effect: Einstein triumphs again! De Broglie waves and quantum mechanics Heisenberg, Schrodinger's Cat and non-locality |
Higher grade
Advanced Higher |
| The Runaway Universe | Measuring astronomical distances
Hubble's law and the expansion of the Universe Random and systematic errors Will the Universe expand forever? Echoes of the Big Bang: the Microwave Background Radiation Dark Matter and Dark Energy |
Higher grade
Advanced Higher |
| Einstein's Universe | Newton's laws of motion
Newton's gravity: 'action at a distance' Measuring the speed of light The elusive ether and Einstein's Special Relativity Spacetime and moving clocks General Relativity: gravity and spacetime warps |
Advanced Higher |
Complete List of Presentations
