Over the centuries the progress of physics has been marked by theoretical hypothesis investigated by experimental verification or falsification, or by experimental discovery seeking a theoretical explanation. In both circumstances, controversies have often raged before a generally accepted view is adopted. This conference will look at some famous examples starting with the observations and theory of Copernicus challenging the centuries-old theological explanation of the heavens based on Aristotle’s geocentric model right up to one of the most recent, the claim by a major experimental group to have observed neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light in apparently direct contradiction of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity.

Registration to attend this conference is free, but must be confirmed using the Conference booking form by midday on Friday 16th February 2018.

Confirmed speakers include:

Professor Jon Butterworth (University College London) – “Don’t argue, just make the plot!” – Physics Controversies and How They Arise

Dr Dario Tessicini (Durham University) – Questioning Copernicus: Cosmological Principles on the Eve of the Scientific Revolution

Professor Graeme Gooday (University of Leeds) – “The Monster Mechanical Delusion”: 19th Century Controversies concerning Perpetual Motion

Dr Michael Loughlin (ITER Organization) – The Unscientific History of Cold Fusion

Dr Susan Cartwright (University of Sheffield) – Superluminal Neutrinos: An OPERA in Three Acts

There will be a conference dinner at St Cross in the evening following the end of the conference with an after-dinner talk by Professor Michael Tite (University of Oxford) on how physical experimental techniques were used in the controversy over the origins of the Turin Shroud. Although the conference itself is free of charge, the dinner carries a cost of £35 to attend – booking a place for dinner can be done here.