SAIP 2011

Session

Plenary

13 Jul 2011, 09:30

Various (Saint George Hotel)

Conveners

Plenary: SAIP De Beers Gold Medal Winner 2010

• Peter Martinez (SAAO)

Plenary: Education

• Nithaya Chetty (University of Pretoria)

Plenary: Lasers, Optics and Spectroscopy

• Erich Rohwer (University of Stellenbosch)

Plenary: Astrophysics and Space Science

• Patrick Woudt (Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town)

Plenary: Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science

• Andre Botha (Unisa)

Plenary: Nuclear, Theoretical and Computational Physics

• Frederik Scholtz (National Institute for Theoretical Physics)

Contribution list Timetable

442. Top Down Causation and the Emergence of Complexity

Prof. George Ellis (UCT)

13/07/2011, 09:30

Oral Presentation

The emergence of true complexity (such as life and the human brain) on the basis of the underlying physics is enabled by top-down processes in the hierarchy of complexity. This talk will propose that there are five different types of top down causation that can all be shown by many examples to exist and be causally effective in the real world. There is room for them at the bottom both because...

441. Building a National Digital Library for Computational Physics Education at All Levels

Dr Wolfgang Christian (Davidson College)

13/07/2011, 16:00

Oral Presentation

Over the past dozen years we have produced some of the most widely used interactive computer-based curricular materials for the teaching of introductory and advanced physics courses. These materials are now hosted on and distributed from the Open Source Physics (OSP) Collection of the ComPADRE National Science Digital Library. This talk outlines the tripartite integration of ComPADRE with...

440. The Photochemistry and Photophysics of DNA

Prof. Anthony Parker (Central Laser Facility,)

14/07/2011, 09:30

Oral Presentation

Our DNA is constantly being subjected to chemical and physical changes. Understanding the molecular dynamics of this biological stress and how it leads to mutation and the onset of cancer represents a key scientific challenge. During evolution cells have evolved an enormous array of weaponry to minimise the risks of mutation, however, under certain conditions things can go badly wrong. A...

439. Mass Distribution in Galaxies using Multi-Wavelength 3D Spectroscopy

Prof. Claude Carignan (University of Cape Town)

14/07/2011, 16:00

Oral Presentation

Spiral and dwarf galaxies are known to present an important mass discrepancy between their dynamical and visible masses. The commonly accepted hypothesis is to assume a more or less spherical halo of unseen matter in addition to the stars and gas. To study properly this mass discrepancy, different observational techniques at different wavelengths need to be combined in order to probe as best...

435. Soft Matter Properties: What can we learn from computer simulations?

Dr Debashish Mukherji (Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research)

15/07/2011, 09:30

Track A - Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science

Oral Presentation

I will present three unrelated examples in which efficient computer simulations have been employed to address soft matter properties. The first example will deal with the dynamics of polymers near surfaces. Despite the significant progress within the last decade, in particular on the structure and thermodynamic properties in confinement, their dynamics remained an active field of research....

438. A Century of Nuclear Theory: a greatly condensed treatment

Prof. Ken Amos (School of Physics, University of Melbourne)

15/07/2011, 13:45

Oral Presentation

Over centuries, defining the underlying structure of matter has been a holy grail for scientists and the public alike. The discovery of the ‘ultimate’ nature of matter has often been seen as offering the ability to explain almost everything else in the universe, from life to the cosmos. During the twentieth century, nuclear physics became a science which promised to reveal many of these...