DRAFT article by Errol
Working at atomic and subatomic levels provides a major challenge for the task of communicating FLEET research
Such unimaginably small scales make it difficult for an audience (whether adult or younger) to directly visualise the mechanisms at work.
FLEET will create resources, such as animation, models and displays, to help explain these concepts.
Negotiations with ScienceWorks Victoria are currently underway to display FLEET science in their Lightning Room Show, and an upcoming exhibition.
Inventing ways to describe science Scale is only one challenge: Much of the work at FLEET is relatively new science – the topological Nobel prize was just a year ago. No one has yet perfected the best, most intuitive ways to explain/demonstrate this science, cf other more common, established fields of physics.
Even ‘older’ science such as Bose-Einsteain condensates are less succesfully ‘trialled’ in the classroom and on paper than old science such as Newton or Einstein.
FLEET will play a leading role in developing explanations that work, including applying an innovative and experimental approach.
This is part of building an Australian workforce for this future industry.
FLEET’s innovative approach to communicating difficult themes includes experimenting with different approaches to see what works:
- Large-scale models to demonstrate electron scattering in transistors
- LINK to global challenges text Water-driven ‘macrochips’
- communications explaining band theory without maths
- explaining topo insulators to a 2nd year physics student
Mention outreach competition for FLEET members
Tailoring the message to different audiences FLEET’s public communications and outreach functions works at many levels (could cross ref to optional box about challenges of communicating/outeach with atomic scale/new sci):
- For non-scientists: computation uses lots of energy
- For environmentally minded: the environmental costs of energy used in computation
- For computation minded: for computing to continue to grow, it must use less energy
- Those with some knowledge of physics: transistors are switches, and each time they switch they burn energy, resistance versus zero resistance
- Undergraduate physics (topology). Interesting challenge of developing
- Descriptions of the science that work for physicists: attracting people to the field, to the Centre (link to challenges above under outreach).
Taking significant research outputs to a) general public via radio and outreach, b) to a science public via scientific blog (developing descriptions of the sci that work to 2nd year physics undergrad level)
Of course this also applies to matching science outreach to the education level of school kids. For FLEET works with the educational curriculum to ensure appropriate content. example: (this might work best in a table?)
Level, Hooks, Goals…
Primary
Science = cool
Continue to study sci at secondary, Interest in physics
Early secondary
Sci/physics = cool, Sci/physics = good career
Continue to study sci, Choose to study physics at late secondary
Late secondary (sci)
Physics = cool, Physics = good career
Stick with science, Choose to study physics at uni
Late secondary (non sci)
Sci = cool, Sci = valuable, Sci = trustworthy
Believe in value of science (including as an adult, and vote for people who believe in science!)
Early undergrad (physics)
N/A?
Work toward postgrad in topo/etc fields
Late undergrad (physics) Choose postgrad in topo/etc fields
N/A?
Work with FLEET