Shaken, and stirred
That’s exactly how attending a lecture by award- winning German professor Dr Metin Tolan will make you feel as he illuminates the very real Physics behind pop culture phenomena like super spy James Bond, the Star Trek series, historical happenings like th
Ian Fleming’s larger than life spy, James Bond, is known for breaking many things, be it his trusted tech supplier Agent Q’s uber cool gadgets or the hearts of pretty women and even entire satellites. But contrary to popular belief, the laws of Physics surely aren’t one of them, contends the award- winning Physics professor from the University of Dortmund and self- confessed Bond fan, Dr Metin Tolan. Dr Tolan, who is in India to deliver his popular lecture on the physics of James Bond titled, “Shaken, not Stirred” ( a reference to the way he takes his Martini), tells us why he thinks teaching James Bond to his students is as important as teaching Einstein or Newton.
From catching a plane in freefall to unzipping his ladylove’s skirt with a magnetic watch, James Bond is all about style. But hidden behind his style must surely be the mind of a phenomenal physicist who can calculate in three seconds, the problems that took professors at Dortmund University an entire weekend, feels Dr Tolan, whose lecture dissects everything about Bond including the most important question: Why he takes his
Martini
shaken and not stirred. Speaking to The Asian Age about what made him come up with the idea of this lecture, Dr Tolan says, “Bond movies are a treasure trove of interesting questions in physics and delving into them is an interesting exercise. But my most important inspiration in coming up with this lecture is that I’m one of his biggest fans.”
Dr Tolan spends most of his time researching in experimental physics in his lab. But when he is out, he is usually dissecting the physics of pop- culture elements, be it the Titanic, Star Trek or even football. “Unlike what many believe, Physics is really in the small things. Sometimes, questioning these small things can be the best source of knowledge in Physics,” says Dr Tolan.
He adds, “I started out by giving examples from Bond movies in my lectures to my students. I found that this way it kept them interested in physics much longer than usual. My students remembered some of these examples even two or three years later. Likewise, I found out that Titanic can be a great example for Thermal Dynamics and even the mechanics of football make for an interesting study.”
Apart from the serious research in his lab, what also interests Dr Tolan is the communication of science. “I think propagating science outside the classrooms and laboratories is as important as serious research. Right now, there is a huge focus in Germany on taking science to the people and it is up to us professors to make science as interesting as possible. In our university, we incorporate science in everything and especially the trivial details of life. Even recently we conducted an experiment on how to boil an egg in optimum condition. These are the things that even normal public can relate to and I believe that while it is important to teach physics to students, it is even more important to teach it to the parents and grandparents.”
“The thing about James Bond,” says Dr Tolan, is that “his movies always make us think that his stunts might actually be possible. However, a simple question like whether it is possible or not is uninteresting. But if you add another facet such as ‘ under what circumstances it is possible’ it becomes a lot more fun. And what we are trying to do is to make physics a lot more fun.”
After a great response to his lecture in Mumbai, Dr Tolan will soon deliver a talk in Delhi. Ask him about what he thinks
about the sit-
uation of Physics in India and he says, “I am deeply interested in how much contrast there is in India. The last time I came here was about 40 years ago, but that was to Kolkata. In my trip now, I have seen that there is a lot of interesting work and research going on in India, more than ever before.” But Dr Tolan also added that there was a need for professors in the country to continually innovate in teaching methods apart from focusing on research. “It is up to the professors to give direction to Physics. In Germany, science programmes are being featured on prime time TV, it will be great if the focus on science increases here too. The only thing needed is the effort.”
During the lecture, Indian professors posed a challenge to Dr Tolan to try to understand the ‘ Physics’ of Rajinikanth after James Bond. But with a possible book on Star Trek ( Which will be his third after ones dealing with James Bond and the Titanic) and a host of other interesting questions to be answered, it seems we might have to wait a bit longer for Dr Tolan’s answer to the ultimate puzzle called “Rajinikanth”.
Unlike what many believe, Physics is really in the small things. Sometimes, questioning these small things can be the best source of knowledge in
Physics