Pint of Science: Fantastic Materials and How to Make Them

We study the natural world in part to understand and reverse engineer nature’s designs. The running theme of this evening is designing materials with specific functions, whether that’s to ensure a refreshing shower (Dr Charlie Wand) or to build an invisibility cloak (Joe Shields)! To round out the first night we will be treated to fascinating hands-on demonstrations of everyday optics effects by Exeter Photonics Society.

Tickets at https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/fantastic-materials-and-how-to-make-them

What do computers have to do with shower gel?

Charlie Wand (Lecturer in Natural Sciences) @craywand

Shower gel and computers are two seemingly disparate topics. In this talk, we'll see how computer models are being used to understand the molecular properties of shower gels, shampoos and other similar everyday products. The main ingredients in shower gels leads to the formation of a rich variety of structures at the nanoscale. However, it is very difficult to predict the type of structure formed from…