The Science & Technology Group

Organising committee:  Tanya Dempster, Paul McKay, Bill Devitt, Kurt and Lynda Kovach - science@ashbyu3a.co.uk -

This group is for both people who have a general interest in science as well as those whose careers have been in this area. We meet monthly with talks given mainly by members on a mixture of science/ engineering topics, some science news, information about famous scientists, good YouTube ideas and even the occasional practical activity.

We normally meet in the main hall at Packington Village Hall, High Street, Packington LE65 1WJ on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 2pm.
Parking is limited, so please try to car-share if possible.

Thursday 10th September.

'Visit to Woolsthorpe Manor'

Woosthorpe Manor is the birth place and family home of Sir Isaac Newton, a farmhouse set in the picturesque Lincolnshire countryside, now run by the National Trust. Eleven members had made the 45 mile journey on a lovely warm and sunny morning for a guided tour of the farmhouse. The venue is special because it was here that Newton carried out his experiments on light and discovered the universal force of gravity that explained the orbits of planets and why an apple always falls vertically to the ground.

Our guide described how the baby Isaac was not expected to survive for long, he was so small and weak, and how is father died months before Isaac’s birth. When his mother remarried, she left Isaac in the care of his grandmother, a desertion that may have accounted for his rather cold and harsh personality. Our tour continued from the parlour to the hall then into the kitchen with a bread-making oven built into the hearth, advanced features for the mid-17th century. Many rooms showed wall etchings of geometric shapes and scribbled notes made by Newton as ideas came into his brain. These were most evident in his bedroom, where holes were created to allow sunlight to enter a glass prism revealing the colours of the rainbow. In the 17th century paper was expensive so the white-washed blank walls were used instead.

Newton was curious to find out how the wind powered a mill so he watched workmen building one nearby and grasped the principles so well he built a scale model version, a replica of which was on display. This showed Newton’s grasp of mechanical devices, a skill he combined with his understanding of optics to invent the first reflecting telescope, a model of which was on display in Newton’s bedroom. This used a polished parabolic metal surface to focus light and give a magnified image that was superior to that produced by Galileo’s lenses in his refracting telescope.

The tour then visited the garden where the group was shown an old apple tree surrounded by a low wicker-work fence. The original tree believed to be the source of Newton’s discovery of gravity was damaged by a storm in the early 19th Century but the recumbent trunk subsequently grew saplings to form the tree we see today. The guide described how seeds/pips from this tree travelled with Tim Peake millions of miles in orbit around the Earth in the International Space Station before being germinated into saplings, one of which was planted at Woolsthorpe. The guide explained that, unfortunately, the sapling struggled to develop and is currently being cared for at Kew Gardens.

The guide told that Newton often had problems dealing with colleagues, particularly when they criticised his scientific work. This happened with Robert Hooke (over who discovered the inverse square law for gravity), with Gottfried von Leibniz (over the invention of calculus) and even with the first Astronomer Royal to the King Charles 2nd John Flamsteed (over orbital data for the Moon). Perhaps Newton’s irritation with these highly respected scientists was due to stress and tiredness from his very demanding work schedule, often forgetting to eat and sleep.

Following the tour, we were free to explore the Science Centre. This had displays and models explaining Newton’s discoveries in a practical way. One model explained how gravity could be opposed by centripetal force; a vertical wheel containing a bean bag could be rotated fast enough to create a centrifugal force that held the bag against gravity. Another demonstration showed how a beam of white light shining through a prism displayed the constituent colours and when it was passed through a second prism, it emerged as white light. Once the guided tours finished we were free to explore the Manor House further at our leisure. Overall, a fascinating scientific and historical experience brought to life by our lively and knowledgeable National Trust guide.

Photos by Paul

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