Physics

Explore the RSE school talks on physics.

Alison McLure

Mountain Rescue Teams go out in all weathers, at any time of the day to try to save people. Find out the physics behind these endeavours, how physics allows teams to perform amazing rescues and how to use physics to avoid calling out mountain rescue. This talk supports some of the experiences and outcomes for forces, electricity and waves. Alison is a member of Tayside Mountain Rescue Team.

Alison McLure

The weather affects us all and is a particularly British obsession. Find out from a meteorologist how weather forecasts are prepared, and the art involved in presenting them. This talk can cover any aspects of weather the teacher wishes to cover.

Professor Giles Hammond FRSE

Sailboats are remarkable in they can harness the power of the wind to propel themselves forward. They can sail with the wind (downwind), but even more remarkable is the fact that by tacking, you can sail upwind, using the physics of the airflow over the sail. In this talk we will explore the physics of how a sail generates lift, and why you also need a keel to both stabilise the boat but also provide “lift” to prevent slipping sideways when sailing upwind. We will also look at the ultimate speed of a sailboat which solely depend on the length of the hull in the water, and some of the different sails used to efficiently sail upwind or downwind. The speaker is a keen sailor, and will use examples from his 30ft sailing yacht which is moored in Portavadie, Loch Fyne.