Scientists frequently talk about ‘beauty’ in their work, but rarely stop to think quite what they mean by it. What makes an experiment beautiful? Is it the clarity of the design? The elegance of the apparatus? The nature of the knowledge gained? There have been several recent attempts to identify ‘beautiful’ experiments in science, especially in physics. But Philip Ball argues that, not only is chemistry often neglected in these surveys, but it has its own special kinds of beauty, linked to the fact that it is a branch of science strongly tied to the art of making things: new molecules and materials, new smells and colours. He offers suggestions for ten particularly beautiful experiments in chemistry, taken from his recent book Elegant solutions.

This talk marks the book’s receipt of the 2007 Dingle Prize for communicating the history of science and technology from the British Society for the History of Science.

Philip Ball is a freelance writer and a consultant editor for Nature, where he previously worked as an editor for physical sciences. He writes regularly in the scientific and popular media on all areas of science and its history, and his books include H2O: a biography of water (2000), Bright Earth: the invention of colour (2001) and Critical mass: how one thing leads to another (2004), which won the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books. His most recent book is The Devil?s doctor: Paracelsus and the world of Renaissance magic and science (2006).

Registration required:

Yes

Free:

No