Light and Optics at the Lighthouse

From Pat Glenday:

Last Thursday saw the second of four physics workshops, organised by West Highland College's Kilchoan Learning Centre manager, funded by the Institute of Physics, and very ably led by Anna Wright. The first workshop attracted thirty participants to a session focussing on tides, held on Sanna beach. We were worried that fewer people would come to the second session, which was on light and optics and held at the Lighthouse, because this session clashed with the archaeological talk given by staff from the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project. However, with some alterations to our timetable, we managed to finish in time to let all those who were interested drive down to the Community Centre for a second instalment of education, this time on the Viking finds at Swordle.

In the event, and despite the clash, 37 people came to the workshop at the Lighthouse. Everybody enjoyed the talk, and most said that they had learned something new. There were some excellent demonstrations to help us understand the more complex points, including one which involved Innes Ferguson's toy tractor, some chalk and the road outside the lighthouse, and showed us all, very clearly, how refraction works. Thanks are due to all the participants for finding the time to come along and join in, to Davie Ferguson for allowing us to use the Lighthouse as a venue, to Ian Ramon and Janet and Alastair MacColl for helping out on the evening of the workshop, and most of all to Anna for all the hard work she put in to preparing another excellent talk.

Details of the final two workshops, on CERN and the Hadron Collider (20th September), and NASA and Astronomy (2nd November), will be circulated soon. If you are not already on the college's mailing list please contact pat.glenday@whc.uhi.ac.uk with your name and email address.

Many thanks to Pat Glenday for photos and story.