How the Universe Got its Spots

When is a doughnut the same thing as a coffee cup? Is the universe infinite or just really big?

Janna Levin sets out to answer these questions and many more in her book How the Universe Got its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space. She writes about important scientists and theories of complex geometries and strings – including a fantastic section where she makes use of Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott (discussed in one of our lectures).

But the book captivates primarily through the way the author goes about transmitting her message. The explanations of chaos and background radiation are thrown in amongst accounts of her personal life with its love woes and frequent relocations.

She also discusses how scientists are viewed (badly dressed, white lab coats and glasses) and is realistic about the degree of subjectivity innate in scientific research (theories “fall out of favour” or are “all the rage”). Actually the book itself renders a moving and accurate picture of what being a scientist is all about.

Although this book rides the popularity wave created by writer-physicists such as Stephen Hawking, it is very different in tone. Janna Levin succeeds in conveying the beauty of physics in a manner that is alternatingly poetic and wryly humorous. All this makes the book a lovely read for people interested in theoretical physics but put off by the degree of dry technical content in some popular science books.

Inspired? Buy the book or become a cosmologist yourself.

Submitted by Alex Martinsson Dorff

Space Station Experience

The human need to explore the universe and gain an understanding about the larger world has prevailed for centuries. The development of the International Space Station (ISS) which started its construction in 1998 has been one of the greatest engineering achievements, since a man first stepped on the Moon in 1969.

Spacestation is a 3-D movie running on IMAX cinemas all over the world giving the opportunity for millions of people to experience what it is like to work at a facility in space 220 miles above the Earth.

I had my 3-D experience of the Space Station at the IMAX theatre located at the Science Museum and it took me spacewalking under zero gravity alongside all the other astronauts. The movie is a story about how much effort is put in by engineers and astronauts in achieving the dream of a complete research laboratory in space.

The film also contains a scene where a dialogue activity had been organised between the astronauts of the space station and a group of school children through satellite communications. This type of activity helps encourage a younger audience to ask questions from human pioneers who have ventured into the space and learn from their experiences.

The large size of the screen combined with the sounds and the 3-D imagery takes anyone watching it right to the Space Station and also the movie is free for Imperial College students at the Science Museum-IMAX!

Submitted by Malith Wijesinghe