Time and Location: 6:00PM, Thursday the 28th of September, Tyndall Lecture Theatre.
Title: Chasing the dragon: moon power and tidal bores
Abstract: In some of the world’s rivers – especially in the UK – an incoming high tide can arrive as a wave: a smooth jump decorated by undulations. The river reverses direction and flows upstream. Understanding tidal bores involves
• analogies with rainbows, ship waves and horizons in relativity;
• the concept of a ‘minimal model’ in mathematical explanation;
• different ways in which different cultures describe the same thing;
• the first unification in fundamental physics.
Bio: Michael Berry is a physicist at the University of Bristol, where he has been for more than twice as long as he has not. for more, see http://michaelberryphysics.wordpress.com