Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I recently got to visit the FREE Cosmic Titans exhibition at the University of Nottingham, an absolutely incredibly immersive experience merging art with science from quantum physics to astrophysics and cosmology. There were 9 new commissions from artists who worked with scientists at the university to bring complex ideas to life. I loved this piece from Conrad Shawcross on the multiverse, it had this incredible mesh cube structure with moving lights in it casting these patterns around the room, which were the only things that could be seen from the two almost identical scientist offices. The idea being they were in separate multiverses, and they were trying to piece together what was going on from just the patterns, without being able to see the cube itself. A nice metaphor for what us astrophysicists try to do. There were also pieces on merging black holes, and how fluctuations in the matter of the early universe could turn chaotic as they interacted demonstrated by a dish of water atop a vibrating speaker. Plus on the quantum phyics side of things there was this art piece on superposition, and an immersive piece with a VR element which felt really cool, but I did not look cool. The exhibition is on at the Lakeside Arts centre in Nottingham until Sunday 27th April, and then at the Science Gallery London 8th October 2025 until 1st March 2026 - if you love science and art make sure you don’t miss this one.
More on the exhibition at Nottingham here - lakesidearts.org.uk/event/cosmic-titans-art-science-and-the-quantum-universe-closing-celebration
See more of the exhibit from @NewScientist : youtube.com/watch?v=fBN4AMAX3Tw
👩🏽💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
I recently got to visit the FREE Cosmic Titans exhibition at the University of Nottingham, an absolutely incredibly immersive experience merging art with science from quantum physics to astrophysics and cosmology. There were 9 new commissions from artists who worked with scientists at the university to bring complex ideas to life. I loved this piece from Conrad Shawcross on the multiverse, it had this incredible mesh cube structure with moving lights in it casting these patterns around the room, which were the only things that could be seen from the two almost identical scientist offices. The idea being they were in separate multiverses, and they were trying to piece together what was going on from just the patterns, without being able to see the cube itself. A nice metaphor for what us astrophysicists try to do. There were also pieces on merging black holes, and how fluctuations in the matter of the early universe could turn chaotic as they interacted demonstrated by a dish of water atop a vibrating speaker. Plus on the quantum phyics side of things there was this art piece on superposition, and an immersive piece with a VR element which felt really cool, but I did not look cool. The exhibition is on at the Lakeside Arts centre in Nottingham until Sunday 27th April, and then at the Science Gallery London 8th October 2025 until 1st March 2026 - if you love science and art make sure you don’t miss this one.
More on the exhibition at Nottingham here - lakesidearts.org.uk/event/cosmic-titans-art-science-and-the-quantum-universe-closing-celebration
See more of the exhibit from @NewScientist : youtube.com/watch?v=fBN4AMAX3Tw
👩🏽💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
