Login
Lecture, Barnard's Inn Hall, Tuesday, 10 Nov 2026 - 18:00
Building with Magnets: The Mathematics of Repulsion and Attraction
Need help registering?
To the wonder of children, magnets stick together. What will be the shape and properties of an object made of many magnets? Starting from simple experiments with magnetic beads, this lecture explores how local interactions generate unexpected global behaviour.
Chains bend, rings oscillate, and complex structures assemble spontaneously. By analysing these systems with minimal models, we learn how effective material properties emerge from simple rules, offering a clear toy model for understanding how matter forms from interacting constituents.
Support Gresham
Gresham College has offered an outstanding education to the public free of charge for over 400 years. Today, Gresham College plays an important role in fostering a love of learning and a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Your donation will help to widen our reach and to broaden our audience, allowing more people to benefit from a high-quality education from some of the brightest minds.
