“Much to learn, you still have” are the famous words of Jedi master Yoda to Count Dooku when he faces his old Padawan in Attack of the Clones.
These words have inspired a series of successful events aimed at school pupils organised by the Department of Physics at the University of Liverpool.
The Physics of Star Wars provides a strong theme for engaging students with advances in accelerator science, an exciting new area of physics that will be of increasing importance in coming years.
The most high profile particle accelerator is the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, and many of the technologies used in everyday life today, such as electronics and the internet, have been enabled by research originating in accelerator science.
Based on our experiences working with schools in the North West we would like to share our ideas and resources to help others to use this theme to explore a number of areas in the curriculum.
Physics of Star Wars
The Physics of Star Wars provides an opportunity to explore what is science and what is fiction in the famous films.