In this newsletter:

- Latest news
- Browse with Plus
- Mathematical moments
- Live maths
- Competition


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Latest news from Plus 

Getting a handle on soap - Mathematicians find a new "minimal surface".  
http://www.plus.maths.org/latestnews/sep-dec05/minimal/index.html

North and South - UK students visit South Africa.
http://www.plus.maths.org/latestnews/sep-dec05/mason/index.html

Plus... more news from the world of maths

Monkey maths 
http://www.plus.maths.org/latestnews/jan-apr05/plusmore35/index.html#monkeys

Wobbling in unison 
http://www.plus.maths.org/latestnews/jan-apr05/plusmore35/index.html#bridge

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Browse with Plus

Einstein at Glasto

A group of science communicators took Einstein to Glastonbury Festival this 
summer and amazed the public with a range of physics and music based 
activities and tricks. This contribution to the Einstein Year was a huge 
success. If you've missed it and would like to find out more, visit 
http://www.uwe.ac.uk/fas/graphicscience/projects/events/glastonbury.htm 
from where you can access the final report on the subject.



Horrible sounds

We should all contribute to the advancement of science as best as we can, 
and now you can help by going to the "bad vibes" website, which was set up 
by Salford University's Acoustic Research Centre, and voting for the 
world's most horrible sound. The project "is interested in the often 
complex ways in which people perceive and interpret sounds. The aim is to 
increase awareness of sound psychology by examining what makes a sound 
unpleasant to hear". If you are ready to offend your ears go to 
http://www.sound101.org/

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Mathematical moments

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz - Born: 1 July 1646 in Leipzig, Germany
                                Died: 14 Nov 1716 in Hannover, Germany

Most people would probably say that their first encounter with seriously 
hard maths came when they learnt about calculus - differentiation and 
integration and the like - at school. And Leibniz is one of the two people 
to blame for this. Leibniz came to maths via philosophy and the realisation 
that statements should be founded on rigorous logical arguments: 
mathematical proofs. In his not exactly modest attempt to unify all human 
knowledge, Leibniz wrote on law, religion, history and politics, as well as 
on mathematics and physics. He also devised the first calculating machine, 
an unfinished version of which he presented to the Royal Society in London 
in 1673. It was in Paris 1675 that Leibniz worked out the basics of his 
theory of calculus, which led to a dispute with Newton, who had had similar 
ideas, about who had done what first. The Royal Society actually found 
Leibniz guilty of plagiarism, but this was proven to be unjust after his 
death. In fact, Leibniz', rather than Newton's, methods stood the test of 
time and formed the basis for further development of the subject. Leibniz 
contributed many other important ideas to mathematics, in particular binary 
arithmetic-the zeros and ones that now dominate our digital world.


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Live maths

Thermodynamics: from demons to black holes

In this free public lecture organised by Gresham College, Professor John D 
Barrow FRS will explore the emergence of the four laws of thermodynamics, 
as well as their mind-boggling implications.

When: 30th November 1pm 
Where:  The Lecture Theatre
            The Museum of London
            London Wall
            London EC2Y 5HN     
More information: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=358


Astrolabes East and West

The Museum of the History of Science in Oxford is running an exhibition on 
astrolabes, the intricately beautiful instruments used in astronomy and 
geometry. The exhibition goes beyond these two areas, focussing on human 
subjects and exploring the astrolabe as a symbolic link between eastern and 
western cultures. On the 3rd of December, the museum will be open from 10 
am to 10 pm for talks, trails, workshops, music, film, and displays. This 
special day carries the theme "Star". There will be guided tours of the 
exhibition on Saturdays at 2.00 pm on the 26th of November and 10th of 
December.

When: Exhibition runs until December
Where: Museum of the History of Science
           Old Ashmolean building
           Broad Street
           Oxford OX 3AZ
More information: http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/events/

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Competition

FameLab 

If you're a scientist keen to communicate, check out the FameLab 2006 
competition. If you are over 21 and working in science, you can participate 
by turning up at one of the five auditions taking place in April and March, 
and impressing the judges with a three minute presentation on a science 
subject of your choice. If you make it through the initial two rounds, you 
will battle it out at the Cheltenham Science Festival in June 2006. Ten 
finalists will win a masterclass in science communication, and the 
opportunity to work with TV producers, commissioning editors, journalists, 
science communicators and media trainers to develop your media and 
presentation skills, get a behind the scenes insight into TV production, 
deconstruct science presentations and work with the team to develop an idea 
you can take forward for television or a series of talks.

http://www.famelab.org/competition/




Happy reading from the Plus team!

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