Optics in Ancient China
The early contributions of ancient China to optics predate those of Euclid, but are little known in the west. During the Warring States period, 2400 years ago in China, Mo Zi, a philosopher, thinker and scientist, stated explicitly the concepts of linear optics: the straight line propagation of light, reflection of light by planar, concave and convex mirrors, and the pinhole camera. Refraction of light was also discovered then, and the refractive index of water was measured to be 1.25, which is very close to the modern value of 1.33. These are recorded in the Book of Mo Zi. In the early Western Han Dynasty, Liu An, King of Huai-Nan, also compiled several works, where novel optical devices are …
IPCC elects Hoesung Lee of Republic of Korea as Chair
DUBROVNIK, Croatia, Oct 6 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) elected Hoesung Lee of the Republic of Korea as its new Chair on Tuesday.
Hoesung Lee was elected by 78 votes to 56 in a run-off with Jean-Pascal van Ypersele. A total of six candidates had been nominated for the position.
“I am honoured and grateful that the Panel has elected me as the IPCC’s new Chair,” said Hoesung Lee. “The IPCC remains deeply committed to providing policymakers with the highest quality scientific assessment …
EPS Executive & Staff activity for September 2015
The EPS works to support its members. Find below the list of activities of the EPS Executive Committee and staff for September 2015:
1-4 September: Christophe Rossel, EPS president, attended the joint annual Meeting of the Austrian and Swiss Physical Societies at TU Wien, Vienna, delivering one opening address and chairing two sessions (one plenary and one on Condensed Matter Physics)
Séminaire Dautreppe
Since 1969, the French Physical Society has organised the Daniel Dautreppe seminar. This annual meeting, held in Grenoble (FR), gathers together experts of a specific field of physics to have an overview of the situation.
EPFL to host International Year of Light celebration
On 5 December 2015, the EPFL will host an event to promote the progress and promise of light technologies and research. The program will mark the closing ceremony of the International Year of Light in Switzerland and will feature the latest in photonics as well as leading scientists to promote improved public understanding of the central role of light in the modern world.
Einstein Symposium: 100 years of the Theory of General Relativity
The Symposium called “From simple physical concepts to a new notion of space, time and gravitation” will take place at ETH in Zurich (CH) from 12-14 November 2015.
Unifying physics and technology in light of Maxwell’s equations
Anatoly Zayats, John Ellis and Roy Pike are the organisers of a discussion meeting on Unifying physics and technology in light of Maxwell’s equations, to be held in the Royal Society, London, UK, from 16-17 November 2015.
Integrating Access to Pan-European Research Infrastructures in Central and Eastern Europe
This workshop is organised by the Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the European Physical Society in the frame of the International Year of Light. It will take place in Debrecen, Hungary, from 30 November to 2 December 2015.
The First African Light Source Conference and Workshop
The First African Light Source Conference will take place from 15-20 November 2015 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility [ESRF] in Grenoble, France. It is the first in a series of conferences that will be held in Africa in the future.
The conference will review the status of the African User Base at international light sources with presentations of the African research at Light Sources.
Conference on the Gender Dimension in Science and Research
How can we target and eliminate existing blind spots concerning the importance of sex and gender in science and research? How can the contribution and potential of the gender dimension to scientific excellence and innovation more purposefully be taken into account for the benefit of science and research as well as research policy at national and European level?
