the-BA : Universe Launch

Universe launch at CCLRC Chilbolton Observatory

Embargoed until 00.01 Friday 14 January 2005

Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night:
God said, "Let Newton be!" and all was light.(Alexander Pope)

It did not last: the Devil howling "Ho,
Let Einstein be," restored the status quo.
("In continuation of Pope on Newton" by JC Squire, Macmillan Ltd)

Writer Terry Pratchett, astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and the Muppet scientists Beaker and Dr Bunsen Honeydew are just some of the people to have submitted poems for a competition launched today to mark both Einstein Year and National Science Week (11-20 March 2005).

It is one hundred years since Einstein’s greatest year, when he published not one, not two, but three influential scientific papers. To mark this occasion, the BA has launched a poetry competition on the themes of time, space and energy, the themes of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.

For his poem, writer Terry Pratchett dipped into multiple universes to find the time and inspiration for his poem, whilst meteorite expert Professor Monica Grady introduced a Martian into her limerick.

“Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was one of the most important theories of the Twentieth Century, yet few people understand its details,” says Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the BA, which co-ordinates National Science Week. “However, its themes – time, space and energy – have captured all our imaginations. For National Science Week, we want to bring out the beauty and complexity of the physical world through poetry.”

Budding poets are invited to submit poems on the themes of time, space and energy to this UK-wide competition. Poems may be in any style, from rhyme to sonnets, haiku to limericks, and must be no longer than 40 lines. There are five age groups:

4-7 years
8-11 years
12-15 years
16-18 years
Adults

The competition is being launched at the CCLRC Chilbolton Observatory - used as an advanced experimental meteorological radar, and also as a radio telescope – which will become the unusual subject of some physics poetry. The 25m dish will be used to project a poem onto for the launch of the Universe competition on the evening of 12 January.

The closing date for the competition is 11 February and the winners will be announced during National Science Week 2005. More information can be found at:
www.the-ba.net/universe.

A selection of poems submitted for the competition can be found here.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Craig Brierley, Press Officer, the BA
Tel: 020 7019 4947
Email: craig.brierley@the-ba.net

Note for editors

1. The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) is the UK's nationwide, open membership organisation dedicated to connecting science with people, so that science and its applications become accessible to all. The BA aims to promote openness about science in society and to engage and inspire people directly with science and technology and their implications. Established in 1831, the BA organises major initiatives across the UK, including the annual BA Festival of Science, National Science Week, programmes of regional and local events, and an extensive programme for young people in schools and colleges. For more information about the BA, please visit www.the-ba.net.

2. Einstein Year is the UK & Ireland's contribution to World Year of Physics (WYP) and marks the centenary of the publication in 1905 of Einstein's three ground-breaking papers on special relativity, the photoelectric effect and Brownian motion . These papers provided the foundation of modern physics, and activities throughout Einstein Year will explore ideas in contemporary physics as well as showing how our everyday lives are influenced by Einstein's legacy. Find out more at www.einsteinyear.org.

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