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Free public lecture on wonderful world of plasmas
The University of Wollongong Science Centre will hold a free public lecture on Tuesday 19 May on the subject of plasmas which have existed since the very first moment of the Universe.
The topic for the Australian Institute in Physics 2009 Women in Physics National Lecture Tour is “To planets or just to the shops, plasmas pave the path”. The lecture will be delivered by Associate Professor Christine Charles of the Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion Group, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering at the Australian National University.
Plasma is the stuff of stars -- it fills the space between stars. It gives the world the beautiful northern and southern aurorae. Houses have plasma TV displays, plasma lights (fluorescent tubes).
Everywhere we look, there is plasma. But we stand on solid earth and the solid state accounts for less than one percent of the total mass of the Universe. The rest is plasma, a hot ionised gas containing positive and negative charges (except, perhaps, for dark matter).
By properly harnessing the plasma state, Professor Charles will highlight how we can make microchips for computers, plasma engines (thrusters) to reach the planets and fuel cells to take people just down to the shops.
The Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) International Women in Physics Lecture Series was instituted to celebrate the contribution of women to advances in physics. Under this scheme, a woman who has made a significant contribution in a field of physics will give a series of lectures around Australia, including a Public Lecture arranged by each participating branch of the AIP. The lecture will be of interest to a non-specialist physics audience.
Professor Charles has a French Engineering degree in applied physics, a French Masters in materials science, a French PhD in plasma physics, a French Habilitation thesis in materials science and a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz from the ANU.
For the past 20 years, she has been working on expanding plasmas and their applications to electric propulsion, microelectronics and optoelectronics, astrophysical objects, and, more recently, to the development of fuel cells for the hydrogen economy.
She is the inventor of the Helicon Double Layer Thruster, a new electrode-less magneto-plasma thruster, that has applications including satellite station keeping or interplanetary space travel. She actively popularises her science on ABC Catalyst, Discovery Channel, radio and public lectures.
Free public lecture date and time: 7pm to 8pm, Tuesday 19 May
Where: Wollongong Science Centre, Squires Way. Free parking available at the Science Centre
Bookings are essential by contacting Kim Noble at the Wollongong Science Centre by phoning 4286 5000 (menu option 3). Media enquiries should be directed to Dr Michael Lerch on 4221 4954.