September’s science group meeting, inspired by the U3A science seminar in Shropshire which four of us attended in August, was about particle physics. We looked at man’s search for the fundamental building blocks of nature, from Empedocles’ “Earth, Air, Fire and Water” through molecules, atoms, protons and neutrons to the ultimately (as far as we know) fundamental quarks and leptons. We talked about the photons and gluons which hold it all together. We wondered whether anyone will ever find a graviton, and of course, we contemplated the Higgs Boson. Mind-boggling stuff, but it was helped down by red wine, cups of strong tea and chocolate birthday cake.

Jill Taylor