Cafe Sci: "Frozen Aliens and Superpowers"

Why not come along and find out what the future might hold for the latest research into low temperature physics at tonight's talk titled "Frozen Aliens and Superpowers". The talk and discussion will be lead by Jess Spurrell who is a researcher from University of Southampton. 

The Tea Bar will be open at least an hour before the talk which starts at 7.30pm, so you can get yourself a drink and have a chat with other participants. 

Entry is free and open to everyone, but we do encourage you to buy a tea, coffee  and cakes to show your support for the The Tea Bar who sponsor the meeting by providing the venue.

Summary

Cryogenics typically works with liquid nitrogen (-196 degrees C or 77 K) and liquid helium (-268.8 degrees C or 4.2 K). Down at these temperatures, all sorts of unusual things can happen - electrical resistance can disappear, almost anything, from frogs to surfers, can levitate, liquid can climb out of its container, biological processes can be slowed almost to a halt. With some deft application of science, some clever calculations and some ingenious engineering, all of this is possible and more - yet for some reason, whenever you say you work in cryogenics, the first thing people ask is, "Do you freeze dead people? Or aliens?"

Join us to uncover some of the incredible things that cryogenics can do - and already has done - for you. We won't be freezing any dead people but we will explain why it's currently not a particularly sensible idea - and we may freeze an alien or two...

Speaker:  Jess Spurrell, University of Southampton

Jess Spurrell is about to submit her thesis on Cryogenic Engineering & Superconductivity at the University of Southampton. This is almost entirely unrelated to her MEng degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering with European Studies, which she studied also at the University of Southampton and at the SupAéro institute in Toulouse, France.

She has given over 30 talks, workshops and demonstrations around the UK including at Winchester and Brighton Science festivals, Science Show-off, Researchers’ Café, The Science Room @ the Art House and more. Since April 2016 she was also managing the RCUK-funded Talk to US! school-university partnership initiative and since January 2017 this role has morphed into the university’s first School-University Partnership Officer.

FORMAT

The format of the evening is usually a talk of 30 to 40 minutes, followed by a short break so the audience can refill their glasses, before questions and discussions about the talk. 

The discussions will aim to finish around 9.00pm, though everyone will be welcome to stay around and have a chat with the speaker afterwards ... and indulge in more of the Tea Bar's delicious cakes.

About Cafe Scientifique

Cafe Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore and debate the latest ideas in science and technology.

Host: Bob Clifford, Organiser for Basingstoke Cafe Scientifique