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The Origin of the Laws of Nature
10 October 2017 | 20:00 - 21:00
£3Event Navigation
Are the laws of nature imposed on us by
a lawmaker or can we identify a simpler
origin? Professor Peter Atkins shall
explore the possibility that they spring
from a mixture of indolence, anarchy, and
ignorance. And what about the fundamental
constants: can their values be explained?
He shall argue that some of them, such as
the speed of light, arise from something as
simple as human prejudice.
Peter Atkins is a fellow of Lincoln College,
Oxford, and was tutor in physical chemistry
until his retirement in 2007. For much of his
career, and still today, he has focussed on
writing over 70 books, both textbooks and
books on science for the general public. This
talk is a preview of a book, Conjuring the
universe, due to appear next March.