Public Talks given by Ray Norris
A) Talks for which no background knowledge is needed:
1) Is there a free lunch at the end of The Universe?
How did the Universe start, and how will it end?
This talk discusses the discoveries which have re-shaped our view of the Universe, and our best guess of the history of the Universe from its earliest moments after the Big Bang, through the present time, to the ultimate end when the Universe dies, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
2) Is there anybody out there? The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Civilisations
It seems inconceivable that we are alone, given the billions of stars like our Sun that are in our Galaxy. Surely there just be some other Earths out there, and surely there must be other civilisations like ours? So how come weÕve never met them, or heard from them, despite the fact that Earth-bound scientists have been searching for years for a faint whisper from one of these alien civilisations?
3) Black Holes: Why are they black? What is spaghettification? And does it hurt?
When I was a lad, black holes were found only in science fiction – sucking in unwary astronauts, and propelling them through holes in spacetime to another Universe. Then the evidence started rolling in, and astrophysicists are now confident that black holes not only exist, but are common, perhaps lying at the centre of every Galaxy. So what are black holes, how do they form, and what happens if you fall into one? And how do we know theyÕre out there?
4) Were Aboriginal Australians: the world's first astronomers?
Aboriginal people in Australia have a rich astronomical tradition such as the Òemu in the skyÓ constellation of dark clouds, and stories about the Sun, Moon, and Orion, revealing a depth and complexity of Aboriginal cultures which are not widely appreciated by outsiders. This talk will explore the wonderful mystical Aboriginal astronomical stories and traditions and the treasury of ancient Aboriginal knowledge.
5) What colour is Dark Energy?
Astronomers used to think that the Universe is made of galaxies, stars, and planets. We now know how sadly deluded we were. 96% of the Universe is made of dark matter and dark energy, neither of which we understand. How did we get it so wrong? How come astronomers didn't all get fired for getting it so wrong? And how can we find out what they are?
6) What's it like being a scientist?
Some people think that science works by careful analytical steps, taken by middle-aged men in white coats, carefully proving one fact after another. It's nothing like that at all! It's all about inspiration, perspiration, good relationships, and creative ideas. In this talk I'll try to give a flavour of what it's like to work at the cutting edge of science. And why the Government pays me to do it.
7) London Organ-Grinders, the discovery of computers, and the non-discovery of Neptune.
As a student, I found an ancient book of log-tables in a secondhand bookshop, and I saw that it had been once owned by Professor Challis, the infamous astronomer whose incompetence in the 19th century outraged British Society, with calls in Parliament for his resignation. How did an incompetent astronomer hit the headlines? And how did it involve the Duke of Wellington, Thomas Babbage (the inventor of computers), and London Organ-Grinders? You'll be amazed!
8) Was Stonehenge a prehistoric observatory?
Stonehenge has been famous for centuries as a "stone-age observatory", but less well-known are the hundreds of other Bronze-Age stone circles in Britain that also seem to have an astronomical connection. Who built them and why? Is the astronomy real? What do we actually know about the people who built them?
9) How to build a time machine
People have fantasised about time travel for centuries. We have no idea how to make a time machine, nor if it's even possible. But, oddly, thereÕs nothing in the physical laws of the Universe that says its not possible. And in the past, physics has found that whatever is permitted by the laws of physics is actually possible. So how would we go about making a time machine? And how would we tell if someone had already done it?
B) Talks for which some background knowledge is needed (i.e. suitable for Amateur Astronomical Societies, etc.)
The Evolutionary Map of the Universe
The $160m Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope is under construction in Western Australia. One of the key projects driving it is EMU - the Evolutionary Map of the Universe - which has an ambitious goal of studying the radio sky in unprecedented detail, to figure how galaxies evolved in the early days of the Universe and how they evolve to the Universe we see today, with stars, planets, rocks, trees, and astronomers. What will we find? How will it change our view of how we got to be here? What is the role of black holes in regulating the growth of galaxies? And how will we manage to extract science from the deluge of data? And what secrets of the Universe will be discovered by its successor, the $2B Square Kilometre Array, an array of such infinite and subtle complexity that its merest operational parameters we are unable to calculate, and yet we will design it?