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In this article an architect examines how the university campus at Stirling was planned. He also describes a computer study of the site carried out at the University of Strathclyde as part of a project on computer-aided design of large building complexes.
Observations of the 1874 transit of Venus seem to have been based on a misguided belief that nineteenth century techniques were superior to those of the previous century. Here A. J. Meadows explains, with the benefit of hindsight, how the expectations of the nineteenth century astronomers were not fulfilled.
With the increasing dependence of the civilised world on science, the need is not so much for ‘popularisation’ as for understanding and critical appreciation of scientific advances if alienation from science is to be avoided.
The practice of science in Northern Ireland is no harder than elsewhere but unwillingness to come to Northern Ireland because of exaggerated fears of the risks causes concern.
Social responsibility in science manifests itself in completely different ways in Britain and the United States. in Britain the emphasis is on words, whereas the American approach is based on deeds.
Details are given from a murder investigation in which the fluorescence of tyre prints was discovered. The prints enabled the tyres and the vehicle in which the body was carried to be identified and fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated a correlation between the fluorescence of one of the tyres and the corresponding print. Circumstances favouring the formation of fluorescent prints and the importance of the technique for forensic science are discussed.
Professor Cotgrove discusses the view that science is not as objective as its adherents claim. He considers the misuse of science, especially the use of pseudo-science to justify social practices.
Over the past few years, considerable advances have been made in the application of scientific method to the conservation of works of art. Slow changes in paintings with exposure to light are still the subject of research but recent developments in the protection of outdoor sculptures are encouraging.
Sir Edward Bullard recalls his early days at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge where, under the watchful eye of Lord Rutherford, he worked, and struggled, as a research student in the company of people like Blackett, Kapitza, and Cockcroft.
