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A traveling exhibition
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Aim of the project

• Physics was and is part of our human culture
• Physics as foundation of technological
  civilization
• Outstanding achievements of physics from nearly
  three millennia

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Traveling exhibition

• Accompanied by materials from history, arts,
  music, and everyday life of the corresponding
  epochs
• Historical and social conditions that were
  necessary for sparking off the ideas
• Social, intellectual and cultural consequences
  these ideas brought about

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Traveling exhibition

• a number of stations for different historic
  periods and cultural areas
• each independently developed
• joint overall concept
• Common design

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Traveling exhibition concept and design

• applied for EU funding
• develop the scientific concept
• define didactic guidelines
• make recommendations for the mode of presentation
• suggest a common design for the exhibition

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The stations What is covered so far what is
missing

• Ancient cosmology covering the period of
  Mesopotamia, Egypt and Europe, from the early
  beginnings to Ptolemy (1st cent. AD) ancient
  astronomical instrumentation models of
  observatories hieroglyphic documents objects
  from ancient cultures
• The discovery of time ancient methods of time
  measurement in Egypt, Greece and Italy from the
  early beginnings to Vitruvius (1st cent. AD) ex.
  Sun dials, water clocks objects from ancient
  cultures Greek and Latin texts on time and time
  keepingBulgaria, Israel (?)

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The stations What is covered so far what is
missing

• Numbers, proportions, and the harmony of the
  spheres Pythagoras Greece and Italy till 500
  BC ex. Acoustic experiments of Pythagoras
  Platons perfect bodies Greek and Latin texts on
  acoustics, music, and numbers objects an arts
  from ancient Greece.Austria
• Ancient Chinese Physics Far Eastern
  HeritageKorea, Japan, China
• The world view of Mesoamericans Maya, Toltecs,
  and Aztecs cosmology, astronomy, and time keeping
  (500 BC to 1500 AD)Mexico

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The stations What is covered so far what is
missing

• Ancient Indian Physics India
• The Islamic contribution to medieval physics
  Islamic countries from central Asia to Spain (8th
  15th cent. AD)Pakistan
• Traditional African physics Physical concepts
  in Africa south of the SaharaSouth Africa

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The stations What is covered so far what is
missing

• The enigma of the rainbow Medieval optics in
  Europe (11th 15th cent. AD) Viking lenses,
  Bacons glass pearls, early spectacles, Latin
  texts on optics and vision objects, music, and
  art from the Middle AgesPoland
• Of loadstone and amber Electricity and magnetism
  from its beginnings to the Middle Ages Europe
  (6th cent. BC 17th cent. AD) medieval
  compasses, amber adornment Latin texts on
  magnetism and electricity objects, music, and
  art from the Middle Ages

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The stations What is covered so far what is
missing

• Of sailors and scientists Physics behind the
  age of discoveries Europe (15th 16th cent.
  AD) objects, art, and music from the Middle Ages
  and the new discovered countriesPortugal
• The scientific revolution of the renaissance
  Europe (16th 18th cent. AD) Copernicus,
  Kepler, Galilei Huygens, Descartes, Newton
  objects, art and music of the RenaissanceItaly,
  Austria, Sweden, Netherlands Missing Newton

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The stations What is covered so far what is
missing

• From frogs legs to power plants Development of
  electricity in Europe and USA (17th 19th cent.
  AD) electrostatic experiments from the 18th
  cent. high voltage machines objects, art and
  music from the Baroque to RomanticismItaly,
  France, Serbia Missing Faraday, Maxwell
• Merging space and time The theory of
  relativity Europe and USA (1905 1920)
  objects, art and music from the early 20th
  centuryItaly, Slovenia, Israel (?)

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The stations What is covered so far what is
missing

• Of particles, waves, and entangled states The
  creation of quantum theory in Europe and USA
  (1900 1950) objects and experiments to make
  quantum concepts understandable quantum
  teleportationAustria, USA, Switzerland, Israel
  (?)

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Action plans for 2005

• Small exhibition in several countries
• Covering one part of the planned traveling
  exhibition
• Similar overall design
• Prepared to be used as part of the traveling
  exhibition

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After 2005

• Aggregation of parts to a big traveling
  exhibition
• Touring through different countries in the
  following years

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Traveling exhibition in Austria

• Local exhibition at the University of Graz
• Topic Austrian Nobel laureates in Physics Hess
  and Schrödinger
• presented Spring 2005 in a small museum near the
  University campus
• Schrödinger will be prepared as a part of the
  station Of particles, waves, and entangled
  states

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Traveling exhibition in Austria

• World Heritage Festival in Graz
• 375 years since Kepler
• Part of The scientific revolution of the
  renaissance as well as Number, proportions and
  the harmony of spheres (Kepler and his
  relationship to the ideas of Pythagoras)
• Cooperation between Graz and Linz, two places
  were Kepler lived
• June 10-12, 2005

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Traveling exhibition in Austria

• Physics Event in Vienna
• From Pythagoras to Zeilinger
• prepared for the annual meeting of the ÖPG in
  Sept. 2005 and for the European Science Week
• previous exhibitions from Graz (Kepler,
  Pythagoras) will be included
• Physics presentations from research institutes as
  well as schools

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Traveling exhibition outlook

• What you could do .?
• to convince people in your country to join the
  project
• to make available experiments, objects,
  historical texts
• to talk to scientific museums to show the
  exhibition after 2005