Next lecture: Monday 2nd October 2017

David Seddon

Title: Romanticism

Summary : At the turn of the 18th-19th century, a changing view of humanity and society emerged. It can be described in the arts by the term 'Romanticism'. This talk will attempt to characterise the Romantic movement in music, literature and painting, and to fit it into the political changes that were taking place at the time. Names bandied about will include Rosseau, Paine, Napoleon, Nelson, Jefferson, Beethoven, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Turner...

Next lecture: 

December 5th:
Professor Philippa Browning; Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester
Lecture title: Bringing a star to earth: Power from nuclear fusion

Due to increasing energy demands, and difficulties with current sources such as fossil fuels, it is essential to develop new means to generate energy. Nuclear fusion-which powers the Sun and stars- potentially provides large amounts of energy from small quantities of widely available fuel, in a safe and reliable manner. I will explain how this could be achieved using magnetic fields to confine the very hot plasma required,describing the current state of progress, and the challenges remaining to be overcome.

Next lecture: 
May 2nd:
In a change to our published program we now have:
Paul Carter
Lecture title: The US Presidential election 2016

Arguably who the US elects as President is more important to us than who Southport elects as MP. The 2016 election is gathering pace.
This lecture looks at...Why did the US configure the powers of the President, and the method of election?...How does it work?...What are the coming events on the way to the White House?...Who is likely to succeed this time?