Wednesday, 7th October 2015 – Space Weather and the Earth’s Magnetic Shield – Prof. John Shaw The Earth’s magnetic field shields the Earth from the solar wind and high energy particles that are released from the sun during solar storms. Is the magnetic shield constant or does it change, can it collapse completely? What do we know… Read More »
Wednesday, 2nd September 2015 – Himalayan Medicine – Dr John Winter John Winter is the author of “Aiming High, Overland to the Himalayas” Aiming High – Overland to the Himalayasand a local member. He travelled to Everest, Annapurna and Indrasan in the nineteen seventies as a newly qualified medic to help with the treatment of climbers suffering… Read More »
Wednesday, 1st July 2015 – Predators in Liverpool Bay – Mathew Clough Mathew Clough is Director of the Liverpool Bay Marine Life Trust, and came along to tell us about the seals, cetaceans and sharks on our own doorstep. Liverpool Bay is often forgotten in regard to its marine life and there is an image of it… Read More »
Wednesday, 3rd June 2015 – Solar Eclipses – Phillip Pendred Last year Phillip talked to us about ‘Time’, or the measurement of time to be precise, illustrating his talk with some wonderful slides. This year he gave us a very instructive talk about Solar Eclipses – how they come about, why they last for varying lengths of time,… Read More »
Wednesday, 6th May 2015 – “How do we know where we are?” – Prof Matthew Nolan Matthew (Alan’s nephew) is Chair of Neural Circuits and Computation, University of Edinburgh Centre for Integrative Physiology, whose research is interested in the mechanisms used within the brain to mediate cognitive processes and guide learned behaviours! Matthew gave an extremely interesting… Read More »
Wednesday, 1st April 2015 – Forensic Geology – Dr Maggie Williams Dr Williams, from the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Liverpool, gave us an insight into the science of Forensic Geology and how it is applied in the investigation of crime scenes. Her slides can be downloaded here. Last Updated – Sunday, November 15, 2015
Wednesday, 4th March 2015 – Lovey Dovey – Graham Cawdell, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Whiston Hospital. Graham came along to tell us about breeding, egg laying, incubation, feeding, nurturing and fledging in birds. Many of these things vary greatly from one species to another, and there seems to be an almost limitless number of combinations, each designed to ensure the continuity… Read More »
Wednesday, 4th February 2015 – Chemical Elements part 2 – this was a joint effort by 6 of our members, each talking for 10 minutes on their chosen element. It was the second session on chemical elements, the first one being last June. February’s line-up was: Frank Wood – Silicon John Appleton – Lead Ann Parker – Hydrogen Allan Yates – Polonium Bill Hale – Iridium… Read More »
Wednesday, 7th January 2015 – It’s a Materials World! by Jack Brettle What is your view of history? What do historians think drives the development of human society? Is it economic, political, religious or sociological forces? Jack Brettle posed these questions, but suggested that historians have got it all wrong and that human development is down to… Read More »
Wednesday, 3rd December 2014 – “Christmas Cheer”: Christmas Menu Mulled wine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reindeer – by Chris Procter. How do reindeer survive and thrive in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, and why do their antlers grow so fast? Chris will have all the answers. Christmas Baking and Christmas Drinks – what is the common denominator? Yeast!… Read More »
Wednesday, 5th November 2014 – “It’s a dirty old world we live in” – the Science of Cleaning, by Patsy Colvin. As an ex Head of Chemistry at a local school, Patsy brought her vast experience of chemistry to bear on the problem of cleaning. Why are some stains harder to remove than others? Why do we… Read More »
Wednesday, 1st October 2014 – “Questioning Style and Memory”. Dr Joyce Humphries, from Edge Hill University Psychology Department, returned to talk about the findings from the study earlier this year in which quite a number of our members participated. It was fascinating to hear the background to the study, and Joyce took us through a… Read More »
Wednesday 3rd September 2014 – “Perception” by Sylvia Dillon: Making sense of what we see – an introduction to Visual Perception and the neuro-physiological processes whereby a person becomes aware and interprets external stimuli. Sylvia talked about how photons of light are processed – at first by the eye, then the brain, then how the… Read More »
Wednesday, 2nd July 2014 – The History of Communications over the past 100 years, with particular reference to the changes made during the lifetimes of our members, by Mike Briggs. Mike started out as a ship’s Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy, before moving into the world of Microwave Transmissions systems for both TV and data. The talk covered evolution of… Read More »
Wednesday, 4th June 2014 – “Chemical Elements – Part 1″ – a joint effort by 6 of our members, each talking for 10 to 15 minutes about their chosen element. The line-up was: Patsy Colvin setting the scene with a brief definition of an element, a bit of atomic theory and a tour around the periodic table, then on with the show,… Read More »
Wednesday, 7th May 2014 – “Time” – by Philip Pendred, who talked to us last year about Comets. This time, his talk concerned the way time was measured with particular regard to Astronomy (Solar time etc.); sundials; the equation of time and its derivation; the importance of timekeeping with reference to finding longitude; precession of the Equinoxes and the calendar and… Read More »
FutureLearn is an offshoot of The Open University providing online courses in a wide range of subjects, many of a scientific nature. The aim is to connect learners from all over the globe with high quality educators, and with each other. Courses are delivered one step at a time, and are accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop, so… Read More »
Wednesday, 2nd April 2014 – “Spectroscopy, gemstones and minerals”. Keith Snell, leader of the U3A Geology group, gave a very interesting talk about the use of Spectroscopy in the analysis of minerals and in the gems trade. Illustrated with some very colourful slides, and pieces of his own home-made equipment, Keith’s talk was laced with personal… Read More »
Liverpool John Moores University is once more holding the Merseyside Astronomy Day, on Saturday 26th April 2014 ( doors open 10:30 ) at John Lennon Art & Design Building ( off Brownlow Hill ), Liverpool L3 5RD. “Hear about cutting edge research being carried out by some of the world’s leading astrophysicists. The on-site cafe will be open… Read More »
Wednesday, 5th March 2014 – Following on from our highly successful talk about Forensics in February, our own Marguerita McBride will talk about Chemical Analysis. It’s a complex world we live in – physically (as well as politically, socially, financially, culturally, and so on!) – and there are many processes used in analysis of the chemical, physical… Read More »