East Midlands Branch

 

THE INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS

AND ITS APPLICATIONS

 

Rock Guitar in 11 Dimensions:

 Strats, Strads & Superstrings

 

a performance by

 

Dr Mark Lewney

 

Thursday 16 November, 2006

starting 7.30 p.m.

 

Nottingham Trent University

Clifton Campus

George Eliot Building, Room GE004

 

******* Note New Venue ***** Note New Venue*****Note New Venue ******

Abstract

What causes the revolutionary, history-changing sound of rock guitar, and how does it help us to understand the nature of the stuff we’re made of?  Famelab winner Mark Lewney explains the physics of rock using riffs from Vivaldi to AC/DC, explains the secret of the Stradivarius, and shows how string vibrations might lie at the heart of the Big Questions about the universe. In this entertaining and mind-expanding lecture, acoustics expert Dr. Lewney explains the physics of vibrations with the help of props as diverse as an air-bazooka, a bullwhip and his custom Ibanez electric guitar through a 100W Marshall amp, turned up loud, with live demonstrations of expert rock guitar playing throughout. Then Dr. Lewney shows how the vibrations of guitar strings might be applied to the particles we’re all made of, but with a twist: the strings vibrate in extra dimensions. Charming stories and mind-bending animations are used to try to get the audience to think in 4-, 5- or even 11-D. This introduction to Superstring Theory shares the wonder and excitement of such grand scale, cutting edge physics.

 

Dr Mark Lewney has a PhD in guitar acoustics from Cardiff University and now deals with new inventions in telecomms at the UK Patent Office in Newport. At the 2005 Cheltenham Science Festival he was the first winner of  FameLab®, a national competition to find the new faces of science communication, with a talk on the physics of rock guitar. Mark has appeared on Radio 4’s Material World as a guitar expert, on a British Council DVD called Beautiful Physics which was distributed worldwide, and on CBBC’s Xchange! as the “Rock Doctor.

 

No charge is made to attend meetings, non-IMA members are welcome

The event is coordinated by East Midlands Branch Secretary, Dr Stephen Hibberd, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, email: stephen.hibberd@nottingham.ac.uk.

Details of East Midlands Branch activities: http://www.ima.org.uk/EMidBranch/ima.html