Opening Event Three New Leiden Wall Formulas
The inner city of Leiden has gained three new wall formulas. On Wednesday 22 November at 15:30 in the Klein Auditorium, alderman Robert Strijk will reveal the paintings of Lorentz contraction, Oort constants and electron spin.
When you stroll around the historic center of Leiden, you will bump into beautiful poems painted on random walls in the most exotic languages. As of recently, these poems are accompanied by ‘poems’ in the language of mathematics: formulas. Each formula has a direct connection with Leiden, made possible by the sleutelstad’s impressive history in scientific discoveries. So far, six wall formulas are spread across the Leiden city center. The artists of Stichting TEGEN-BEELD, also creators of the original wall poems, have painted the artworks.
On Wednesday 22 November we celebrate the three new wall paintings: the formulas for Lorentz contraction, Oort constants and electron spin. Before, Leiden visitors and inhabitants already came across paintings of the Einstein field equation, Snell’s law and the formula for the Lorentz force. At 14:00 a walking tour will start from the Academy building. The official opening takes place from 15:30 onwards in the Klein Auditorium. After a warm welcome from initiators and physicists Sense Jan van der Molen and Ivo van Vulpen, alderman of Inner City and Culture Robert Strijk reveals the new website muurformules.nl. This is followed by lectures on the three new formulas. Afterwards there are drinks at Grand Café Het Pakhuis.
Everyone is invited! No registration is needed.
Program
15.30 Reception at Klein Auditorium (Academy building)
15.45 Welcome speech Ivo and Sense Jan
15.50 Introduction by alderman Robert Strijk, incl. opening website muurformules.nl
16.00 Jan‐Willem van Holten: Lorentzcontraction
16.15 Jet Katgert‐Merkelijn: Jan Oort and the Oort constants
16:30 Martijn van Calmthout: Samuel Goudsmit and the electron spin
17:00 Drinks at Grand Café het Pakhuis (Doelensteeg 8, Leiden)
Before the official program, there is a walking tour past the new wall formulas, starting at 14:00 from the gate in front of the Academy building.
