DIPC10: Passion for nature, matter and life

2010/09/29 Urruzola Arrate, Manex - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Fisika
• Kimika
• Ozeanografia

The speakers were four: Juan Ignacio Cirac, physicist and Prince of Asturias 2006, Jean Marie Lehn and Richard Ernst, Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Sylvia Earle, member of the National Geographic and TED Prize 2009.

Juan Ignacio Cirac spoke about quantum physics. He explained that many of the electronic devices used daily work thanks to quantum mechanics, such as laser, computers or bilingual equipment. However, he announced that in the future the theory of quantum mechanics can bring completely new applications. He cited quantum computing and quantum cryptography as an example, although he recognized that the current experimental state of these devices should be greatly improved. However, he stressed that current romkanagusia is not the creation of quantum devices, but the understanding and dominance of the quantum world, hoping that applications will come later. "If we jump beyond the nanometrotic, the properties we still have appear in the most complete way, and their understanding can generate many new opportunities," he said.

In his speech, Jean-Marie Lehn presented his conceptual reflections on chemistry and science in general. Among the advantages and possibilities offered by the controlled construction of molecular assemblies and the design of the creation of organized architectures. In his opinion, "the goal of chemistry is not discovery, but creation." He defined chemistry as the "art of matter."

Richard Ernst spoke about the multiple fields of application that MRI currently has: solid state physics, chemistry, molecular biology or techniques of representing brain activities, among others. In the explanation of his career he also interspersed fragments of his life, with a lot of humor. He noted, among other things, that science and art come together in curiosity and creation. He showed his fondness for Central Asian painting and explained that art, as a complement to science, reaches human areas that science cannot properly cultivate. Any academic effort also claimed the need to build a better world.

Finally, Sylvia Earl focused his efforts on the introduction of a new era through the use of new technologies in the study of the ocean, which, in his opinion, is fundamental to understand the changes that have occurred in the chemistry of the oceans, biodiversity and the composition and structure of the marine ecosystem. He warned that we need to worry about serious problems, such as rapid global warming, rising sea levels and ocean acidification.