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Physics: Skills & Insight – Focus on Problem Solving & Thinking Skills With Dr Magnus Borgh From University of East Anglia
26th June 2023 @ 15:35 - 16:20
In this Physics session, Dr Magnus Borgh, Associate Professor in Physics at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on Problem Solving & Thinking Skills.
It is said that a good theoretical physicist should be able to calculate anything to within a factor of ten without any particular preparation or looking things up. This is known as an order of magnitude estimate and such problems are often called Dirac problems, after the theoretical physicist Paul Dirac. One of the famous Dirac problems, in a Norfolk-adapted version, can be formulated like this: “How many piano tuners are there in Norwich?”
In this session, we will learn how to work out problems of this kind from everyday life and see how a bit of physics skills and knowledge goes a long way towards understanding the world around us. We will also have a look at some of the exciting quantum-physics research at the University of East Anglia.
Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Dr Magnus Borgh
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.
As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.
Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Physics and related disciplines.
Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance, with respect to challenges they may face or questions they have. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Physics at university level.
The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.
Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: