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64th Cherwell Simon Memorial Lecture - In integers we trust: the period table of materials from Mendeleev to topology
The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception
Materials science has always balanced on the twin pillars of observation and abstraction—from the alchemists’ crude recipes to today’s AI‑driven materials design. In this talk, we begin by revisiting the pre‑quantum era, when early chemists grappled with the nature of elements and compounds, and examine how Mendeleev’s periodic table first imposed order on the chemical world. We then show that what underpins this table is the surprising power of integers and discrete mathematics—why you can’t “slip in” between whole numbers—and trace how that insight underlies quantum mechanics, blurring the boundary between chemistry and physics.
Date:
16 June 2025, 16:30
Venue:
Clarendon Laboratory - Townsend, Parks Road OX1 3PU
Venue Details:
Martin Wood Lecture Theatre
Speakers:
Speaker to be announced
Organiser:
Helen Smith (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
helen.smith@physics.ox.ac.uk
Hosts:
Prof Paolo Radaelli (Dept of Physics),
Professor Andrew Boothroyd (University of Oxford)
Booking required?:
Recommended
Booking url:
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPkRDU4aB0-VJMi7wmZ4pFKH5UNVc4MEFFNUdWVVdaMkVUV1FEQjVPV0tWQSQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl
Booking email:
events@physics.ox.ac.uk
Cost:
FOC
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Helen Smith
