Suzie Sheehy: The case for curiosity-driven research
Suzie Sheehy: Defendendo a pesquisa motivada pela curiosidade
Dr. Suzie Sheehy uses accelerator physics to help reinvent technology for applications in medicine, energy and beyond. Full bio
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scientists were trying to solve a mystery.
tentavam resolver um mistério.
a vacuum tube like this one
um tubo a vácuo como este aqui
de raios catódicos.
What were they made of?
de que eles eram feitos?
physicist, J.J. Thompson,
do século 19 J.J. Thompson,
magnets and electricity, like this.
ímãs e eletricidade, deste modo.
of negatively charged particles
negativamente carregadas
than the hydrogen atom,
do que o átomo de hidrogênio,
the first subatomic particle,
a primeira partícula subatômica,
a completely impractical discovery.
uma descoberta completamente inútil.
there were any applications of electrons.
alguma aplicação para os elétrons.
he used to like to propose a toast:
ele gostava de propor um brinde:
seja útil a ninguém".
out of sheer curiosity,
de pesquisas por pura curiosidade,
understanding of the world.
mais profundo do mundo.
did cause a revolution in science.
de fato, uma revolução na ciência.
unexpected revolution in technology.
inesperada no mundo da tecnologia.
for curiosity-driven research,
a pesquisa motivada pela curiosidade,
I'll talk about today
has actually changed our view of reality.
mudou nossa visão sobre a realidade.
sentados em uma cadeira.
the electrons in the seat,
was actually built on this discovery.
se ergueu com base nessa descoberta.
were the start of electronics.
if you remember, in your living room,
um destes em nossa sala,
would our lives be
from here was the television?
daqui fosse a televisão?
when the electrons here
quando os elétrons daqui
screech to a halt inside the metal,
até parar dentro do metal,
which we call X-rays.
o que chamamos de raios-X.
of discovering the electron,
após a descoberta do elétron,
to make images inside the human body,
imagens dentro do corpo humano,
being saved by surgeons,
a salvar vidas de soldados,
and shrapnel inside their bodies.
e estilhaços dentro do corpo deles.
come up with that technology
essa tecnologia
better surgical probes.
sondas cirúrgicas melhores.
with no application in mind,
curiosidade, sem aplicação em mente,
of the electron and X-rays.
do elétron e dos raios-X.
for our understanding of the universe
para nosso entendimento do Universo
very simple particle accelerator.
acelerador de partículas.
so I design particle accelerators,
projeto aceleradores de partículas,
os feixes de luz se comportam.
curiosity-driven research
motivada pela curiosidade
real-world applications.
of those two things
about what I do.
sobre aquilo que faço.
for me to list them all.
e não vou conseguir listar todos.
found something strange in his equations.
viu algo estranho com as equações dele.
on mathematical insight,
em insights matemáticos,
a second kind of matter,
um segundo tipo de matéria,
when it comes in contact:
quando entra em contato:
every day in hospitals,
todos os dias em hospitais,
or PET scans, used for detecting disease.
ou em TEPs, usadas para detectar doenças.
up to a higher energy,
a uma energia superior,
that this tube,
superior àquela neste tubo,
ionizing radiation to kill human cells.
suficiente para matar células humanas.
those X-rays where you want them to go,
estes raios-X para onde quer que seja,
are treated using radiotherapy.
com câncer são tratados com radioterapia.
are actually standard equipment
são equipamentos padrão
ou um computador,
both with you right now, right?
ambos agora mesmo, certo?
by implanting single ions into silicon,
da implantação de íons no silício,
to explore inside the atom.
a explorar dentro do átomo.
to develop particle accelerators.
a desenvolver aceleradores de partículas.
let us split the atom.
nos permitiram dividir o átomo.
and higher energies;
that let us delve into the nucleus
que nos permitem analisar o núcleo
just exploring inside the atom.
somente explorando o interior do átomo.
how to control these particles.
a controlar estas partículas.
with our world
a interagir com nosso mundo
for humans to see or touch
para as pessoas verem, tocarem
and larger accelerators,
aceleradores cada vez maiores,
about the nature of the universe.
sobre a natureza do Universo.
new particles started popping up.
novas partículas começaram a aparecer.
ring-like machines
máquinas em formato de anel
in opposite directions,
de partículas em direções opostas,
que a espessura do fio de cabelo
to less than the width of a hair
and convert it into new matter,
e convertê-la em uma nova matéria,
from the very fabric of the universe.
da própria estrutura do Universo.
about 35,000 accelerators in the world,
35 mil aceleradores no mundo,
incredible machines,
dessas máquinas incríveis,
of tiny particles,
de partículas minúsculas,
that are more complex
que são mais complexos
how incredible it is
a explicar o quão incrível é o fato
to invest your time and energy
o tempo e a energia de vocês
curiosity-driven research.
motivadas pela curiosidade.
of seeing the invisible."
J.J. Thompson did just that,
J.J. Thompson fez justamente isso,
on the subatomic world.
do mundo subatômico.
in curiosity-driven research,
em pesquisas motivadas pela curiosidade,
challenges that we face.
the space and the means
o tempo, o espaço e os meios
curious and open-minded
our discoveries will be.
nossas descobertas serão.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Suzie Sheehy - PhysicistDr. Suzie Sheehy uses accelerator physics to help reinvent technology for applications in medicine, energy and beyond.
Why you should listen
Dr. Suzie Sheehy designs particle accelerators. She's fascinated by using accelerator physics to help us reinvent technology for applications in areas such as medicine and energy. Her research projects have ranged from the design of new cancer treatment accelerators to building a scaled-down experiment that models particle beams -- answering fundamental questions about the physics of beams that are beyond reach of computer simulations.
Sheehy is currently a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, where she also teaches graduate-level accelerator physics. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne in her native Australia (BSc Hons 2006) and DPhil at the University of Oxford in the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science (2010). She has held fellowships from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (Brunel fellow 2010-2013) as well as her current Royal Society Fellowship.
Alongside her research, Sheehy is a prolific public speaker, presenter and science communicator, for which she has received a number of awards including the British Science Association Lord Kelvin Award, Institute of Physics HEPP Group Science in Society Award and the University of Oxford Vice Chancellors Civic Award. She is an expert TV presenter for Impossible Engineering on Discovery Channel and has cowritten and delivered live headline shows for tens of thousands of students at the Big Bang Fair alongside well known BBC TV presenters. She regularly presents public and schools lectures around the UK and further afield at major science festivals and venues like the Royal Institution.
Suzie Sheehy | Speaker | TED.com