Does art-from-science really add anything?

neutrinos in Cheltenham, skepticism about the relationship of art / science and an example of the art of quantum mechanics and it worked for me

I spent a fun and interesting weekend in the Cheltenham Science Festival. I was there to talk about neutrinos and the Fury (or such a hassle, I'm still learning to speak journal) whether travel faster than light (they did not, it was a faulty connector on the cable). The debate was organized by the Times, directed by Jim Al-Khalili, and he and I were joined by two real neutrinos, scientists from Oxford University and Giles Barr Susan Cartwright of the University of Sheffield. The damning verdict of the hearing is that the whole episode was generally well managed and is good for science

. They mostly agree, however, with Matt Strassler OPERA I think really should check your cables before, it was a mistake to have created huge embarrassment that many (including Susan) called immediately, and alone has be found.

There were many fascinating people and events around, but the train back to London the conversation that sticks in my mind is that I had with some people in the green room on art and science. CERN has an art program now excited (and Gormley), but there is a feeling that CERN scientists maintain a high degree of skepticism, even cynicism, but probably mostly indifferent to the activity. Despite some important science-related art here (for example, these projections Colourfield paintings) share this attitude to varying degrees depending on the mood, and I wondered why.

Science

is undoubtedly the source of some wonderful images. But in general, the art has more impact on me in general indices, and the sample back to me something I already have some knowledge of, and brings me to another way of thinking. What happens with art that is not specifically about science. It can refer to love, distance, location, authorship, fear ... almost nothing. This triggers all sorts of echoes in my thoughts and deepens the experience and understanding.

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The only piece of art that I think I did it for me with science is a game - Copenhagen by Michael Frayn, I saw years ago the South Bank surfaces and still my mind at random intervals, especially when I work with or teach quantum mechanics. Frayn explores brilliantly a meeting between Niels Bohr, his wife Margrethe, and Werner Heisenberg in Copenhagen during the Second World War. Bohr and Heisenberg, developing giants of quantum mechanics were former colleagues, but on opposite sides. Nobody really knows what was said, but after Bohr and his wife fled to Denmark USA (Not a minute too soon). German Heisenberg has led efforts to develop an atomic bomb. Bohr worked on the project at Los Alamos. Why and Heisenberg visited Bohr exactly warned and, if the information of fundamental physics, or information is exchanged, and the impact it has had on the fact that Los Alamos has not managed the Nazis is the subject of much speculation versions and are presented in the game.

• All this is fascinating, but there is another layer of the. There is an implicit analogy but to me very clearly between, on the one hand, the known facts of history (the meeting definitely happened) and unknown reasons and conversations that may be behind them, and On the other hand, the idea of ??quantum measurable physical quantity (eg, the position at which a photon strikes a screen) and the United indeterminate in the front half of this. For example, to calculate the final position of a photon, we must consider all possible paths you could take, and it makes no sense to say that particular person. It is more a lack of knowledge is in principle unknowable, and there were echoes of that for me in the personality of Heisenberg, who probably had very different motivations and probably not even sure if they were, or were dominant. So in a sense that the actions are real. Motivations are potentially unknown and perhaps you need to consider everyone to understand the facts.
not know, I'm not an art critic or theater, and I hope I did not ruin the game by any person to a physical link only works so awkward for me. But what really works for me. I also saw the work with the non-physical, which is as wonderful as I think probably not these connections. I must say that I am a fan Frayn work in general, but for me, this book alone is enough to be considered a genius.

I want to spend more time at Cheltenham Science Festival next year. Copenhagen Restages hope that someone close to me soon. And I wish good luck to artists CERN - and I am very grateful if I can say something about my science.

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