Firstly, let me say that it is a pleasure
to be here once again to present the award. I hope all of you remember
all the wonderful things you've learned last year during the
International Year of Physics. Not only have you all heard of
E=mc2, but you now know what it means... it
relates the energy E of an object of mass m and the
speed of light c, which is 300,000 km/s. In a moment I will
give you an example of just how much energy this can generate.
Last year we were awarded a $10M research
grant by the Australian Research Council to establish The Centre for
Antimatter-Matter Studies. The experimental work will be done at the
ANU, Griffith, Flinders, and here at UWA, with Murdoch providing the
theoretical support. I am the deputy director of the Centre. Who
has heard of Antimatter? The antiparticle of an electron is called a
positron. What happens when Antimatter and Matter collide? The masses
of antimatter and matter get converted to pure energy via
E=mc2. One controversial suggestion before NASA is
to create a new rocket engine based on positron-electron annihilation
to replace the troublesome solid fuel rockets of the space shuttle. In
one miligram of positrons annihilating with electrons there is enough
energy to lift a 1 MT space vehicle 300 km above the Earth's
surface. The question is where do you get a miligram of antimatter
from?
Our research is less controversial and
ranges from pure science through to material and medical
applications. Many of you would have heard of PET scans. PET stands
for Positron Emission Tomography. Using positron-electron annihilation
cancerous tissue can be detected in our bodies. All of our major
hospitals are equipped with such machines and using fundamental
physics it is our task, amongst many others, to improve the resolution
of such scans.
This prize, for the best year-eleven
physics student, was initiated by the physicists at Murdoch to
encourage you to consider further study in physics and the
nanosciences, necessary if you want to be a part of the ongoing
nanoscale technological revolution. To entice you further our best
starting students are offered tax-free $4,000 scholarships and will
get the opportunity to be a part of the current research from the
outset. It gives me great pleasure to award the prize, which is Bill
Bryson's book A Short History of Nearly Everything, to the best
year-eleven physics student of 2005, ...
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