Maths
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Hands-on Statistics
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/maths/research/groups/statistics.page
See the power of Statistics at work in our hand-on activities, including "How many penguins?" (can you use Statistics to make better guesses about the number of penguins in a population?) and "Stick or switch?" (which will challenge your intuitions about chance and decision making).
Hands-on Statistics
Who Is Number One? The Topology Of Horse Racing
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
Could you predict which horse is going to win a race based on past performances? With over 14,000 horses and more than 10,000 races every year in Britain, this is no easy task. We will show you how topology (the mathematical study of shape) can give you a systematic way to predict the winner by exploiting the hidden topology in horse racing data.
Who Is Number One? The Topology Of Horse Racing
Maths On The Move
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
How do you make an autopilot plane safe?
Did you know there are mathematically based techniques that can be used to help specify and prove safety properties in things such as an autopilot plane. This type of maths is called formal methods. One way of using this is something called Rodin. You will be using this on the stand.
You will be given the chance to use Rodin (something used by professionals every day) to learn about airport safety. You will be given a number of scenarios, have the opportunity to use Rodin to make decisions and learn how good those decisions were based on how safe they actually are. Think about how you felt doing it - now imagine a computer making those decisions, then imagine an autopilot plane making those decisions for you!
Maths On The Move
Maths For Better Energy
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
Advisory notice – this event contains the following elements:
Loud Sounds
To help fight climate change we need to be able to harness more of our power from the sun. We are using maths to help us understand how new types of solar cells and state of the art batteries work. This helps us to create cheaper, more efficient and sustainable technology that will promote the switch to greener energy. Come and visit our stand and play with some solar powered toys, take part in interactive demonstrations and pose your questions to the "experts"!
Maths For Better Energy
Exploring The Horizon
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
The last couple of years have seen exciting progress in our understanding of black holes, with gravitational waves from black hole collisions observed by LIGO, a close up image of the giant black hole in the galaxy M87 taken by the Event Horizon Telescope and parallel developments in our understanding of the theory. This exhibit will showcase these developments though a set of hand-on activities.
Exploring The Horizon
Shapes With A Twist
Age: 7+
Type: Interactive exhibit
Digital Event only.
Shapes With A Twist
7+
Type(s):
- Science and Engineering Day
- Brand new event
- Southampton Science and Engineering Digital Shed
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/maths/about/staff/ahml1c19.page
Get crafty and put those thinking caps on as we play with mind bending shapes!
We'll encounter twisty turny topology - my favourite field of mathematics - which explores shapes that squash, shift and stretch. Test your visualisation skills, prank your friends, and learn about one-sided worlds.
Downloadable content:
Download 1Möbius, Marvels and Movement - This is a crafty activity for adults and children alike! Think about your table top, this piece of paper, the surface of a ball. Can you imagine a one-sided surface: no front or back, no inside or outside, just one side? A Möbius strip is one of these strange surfaces. Let's learn about its weird and fascinating properties and see how they are already part of our everyday lives! This activity will need scissors, so please have adult supervision.
Shapes With A Twist
Is The Earth Flat?
Age: 16+
Type: Talk
Advisory notice – this event contains the following elements:
Hearing Loop
When asked: "Is the Earth flat?" you should immediately ask back: "What do you mean by flat?" The answer to this question takes an exciting route through some of the foundational ideas in mathematics. This talk will allow the audience to see the seemingly well-known in new and unexpected ways.
Is The Earth Flat?
Is Our Universe A Hologram?
Age: 16+
Type: Talk
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/maths/about/staff/ahob1e15.page
Advisory notice – this event contains the following elements:
Hearing Loop
Take a journey to the cutting edge of theoretical physics: string theory!
In this "Cafe Scientifique'' style session, we will explore one of string theory's most surprising predictions, that all the information in our 3D universe may be contained in a mysterious 2D image, like a hologram. This "holographic principle" promises not only to unite Einstein's relativity with quantum physics, but also has the potential to someday provide us with cleaner energy, faster computers, and novel electronics. This event begins with a talk aimed at A-level students, followed by an informal Q+A session, so bring plenty of questions!
Is Our Universe A Hologram?
16+
Type(s):
- Science and Engineering Day
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/maths/about/staff/ahob1e15.page
Take a journey to the cutting edge of theoretical physics: string theory!
In this webinar we will explore one of string theory's most surprising predictions, that all the information in our 3D universe may be contained in a mysterious 2D image, like a hologram. This "holographic principle" promises not only to unite Einstein's relativity with quantum physics, but also has the potential to someday provide us with cleaner energy, faster computers, and novel electronics.
