Kent Physics Centre
Evening talks on physics open to the public.
Talks are Tuesday evenings at 7pm in SIBSON Lecture Theatre 3 and will run about once a month.
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Upcoming Talks
Tuesday 21st January 2025
Christopher Wiley (University of Surrey)
Music and Space
In this talk, I explore some of the many connections between music and space, First, I discuss famous examples of people who have been interested in both space and music, including several contemporaries as well as Gustav Holst (The Planets), William Herschel (discovered Uranus), and Johannes Kepler (the music of the spheres). Second, I look at some of the music that has been sent to and from space, both recent broadcasts (live and recorded) as well as the contents of Voyager’s Golden Records. Finally, I investigate composers’ representations of space through some of the most recognisable musical themes in the history of film and television, including Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. In the course of this talk, I perform music by Herschel and demonstrate the theremin, an electronic musical instrument commonly associated with the creation of otherworldly sounds.
You can see our full schedule of talks for the 2024-2025 academic year here.