Cormac O Raifeartaigh
14 results

From Democritus to Einstein, the long search for the tiny atom
- Science
- January 31, 2019, 06:00
“When were atoms first discovered?” I was recently asked. The question often comes up at this time of year, as our students embark on their first cour(...)

Is science influenced by politics?
- Science
- November 29, 2018, 01:00
“Science is always political,” asserted a young delegate at an international conference on the history of physics earlier this month. It was a very en(...)

Where’s the evidence? A scientist’s struggle with religion
- Science
- August 26, 2018, 16:57
The recent visit of Pope Francis to Ireland, following so soon after the discovery of yet more horrific crimes committed by Catholic clergy against ch(...)

A science lesson from the dawn of the universe
- Science
- March 26, 2018, 11:00
While many academics in Ireland and the UK were snowbound at home earlier this month, an intriguing controversy was breaking in the world of physics. (...)

Nine questions about climate change – and the answers you should know
- Science
- November 30, 2017, 01:26
An important international meeting about climate change took place in Bonn, Germany earlier this month. Attended by more than 10,000 delegates, it rec(...)

A question of trust in science
- Science
- August 28, 2017, 16:03
Last week’s solar eclipse generated unprecedented public interest in the skies above us. One reason was that the path of the eclipse fell across a lar(...)

A toxic belief in the non-existence of climate change
- Science
- June 29, 2017, 06:00
Early in June, Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Paris Accord, a key international agreement that aims to limit global warming(...)

Fred Hoyle: The brilliant man who lost the Big Bang debate
- Science
- October 29, 2015, 01:00
Earlier this month, I attended a meeting at the Royal Astronomical Society in London in memory of the celebrated British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle.(...)

Southeast college merger: a suitable match or a forced marriage?
- Education
- February 17, 2015, 06:00
The long-running saga of Waterford Institute of Technology’s bid for university status has had a few problems of late. There were particular issues(...)

When research is sloppy or downright dishonest
- Education
- October 14, 2014, 00:00
Don’t believe everything you read: a cynical rule for cynical times. One might think the academic journal is the one place where accuracy, validity(...)