Suzie Sheehy: The case for curiosity-driven research
Suzie Sheehy: Em defesa da pesquisa orientada 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.
estavam a tentar resolver um mistério.
a vacuum tube like this one
um tubo de vácuo como este
através dele,
What were they made of?
De que eram feitos?
physicist, J.J. Thompson,
J.J. Thompson,
magnets and electricity, like this.
e eletricidade, como esta.
of negatively charged particles
carregadas negativamente
than the hydrogen atom,
que o átomo de hidrogénio,
the first subatomic particle,
a primeira partícula subatómica,
a completely impractical discovery.
parecia ser completamente inútil.
there were any applications of electrons.
que não havia uso para os eletrões.
he used to like to propose a toast:
ele costumava propor um brinde:
out of sheer curiosity,
de fazer pesquisa por pura curiosidade,
understanding of the world.
mais profundo do mundo.
did cause a revolution in science.
uma revolução na ciência.
unexpected revolution in technology.
e inesperada revolução na tecnologia.
for curiosity-driven research,
a pesquisa orientada por curiosidade,
I'll talk about today
de que vou falar hoje seria possível.
has actually changed our view of reality.
mudou a nossa percepção da realidade.
que estão sentados num assento.
the electrons in the seat,
a tocar no assento.
ligeiramente acima dele.
was actually built on this discovery.
foi construída sobre esta descoberta.
were the start of electronics.
if you remember, in your living room,
se vocês se lembram, na sala de estar,
de raios catódicos.
would our lives be
from here was the television?
daqui fosse a televisão.
when the electrons here
quando estes eletrões aqui
screech to a halt inside the metal,
param dentro do metal,
which we call X-rays.
a que chamamos raios X.
of discovering the electron,
to make images inside the human body,
do interior do corpo humano,
being saved by surgeons,
a vida de soldados,
and shrapnel inside their bodies.
e estilhaços dentro dos corpos.
come up with that technology
ter inventado esta tecnologia
better surgical probes.
melhores sondas cirúrgicas.
with no application in mind,
curiosidade, sem aplicação em mente,
of the electron and X-rays.
dos eletrões e dos raios X.
for our understanding of the universe
da nossa compreensão do universo
very simple particle accelerator.
acelerador de partículas.
so I design particle accelerators,
projeto aceleradores de partículas,
como os feixes se comportam.
é pouco comum,
curiosity-driven research
orientada pela curiosidade
real-world applications.
no mundo real.
of those two things
about what I do.
com o que faço.
for me to list them all.
para eu os conseguir enumerar.
found something strange in his equations.
encontrou algo estranho nas suas equações.
on mathematical insight,
em conhecimentos matemáticos,
a second kind of matter,
um segundo tipo de matéria,
when it comes in contact:
com que entra em contacto:
ela foi descoberta.
every day in hospitals,
or PET scans, used for detecting disease.
(PET), usadas para detectar doenças.
up to a higher energy,
a uma energia maior,
that this tube,
mais alta do que este tubo,
ionizing radiation to kill human cells.
suficiente para matar células humanas.
those X-rays where you want them to go,
para onde quisermos que eles vão,
ou o Reino Unido,
are treated using radiotherapy.
são tratados com radioterapia.
are actually standard equipment
são um equipamento normal
ou um computador
both with you right now, right?
ambos agora convosco, não é? —
by implanting single ions into silicon,
implantação de iões isolados em silício,
implantação de iões
orientada pela curiosidade,
to explore inside the atom.
a explorar dentro do átomo.
to develop particle accelerators.
a desenvolver aceleradores de partículas.
let us split the atom.
permitiram-nos dividir o átomo.
and higher energies;
cada vez mais altas;
that let us delve into the nucleus
que nos permitem mergulhar no núcleo
just exploring inside the atom.
apenas a explorar o interior do átomo.
how to control these particles.
a controlar essas partículas.
with our world
com o nosso mundo
for humans to see or touch
para os humanos verem ou tocarem
and larger accelerators,
cada vez maiores,
about the nature of the universe.
em relação à essência do universo.
new particles started popping up.
novas partículas começaram a aparecer.
ring-like machines
em formato de anel
in opposite directions,
em direcções opostas,
to less than the width of a hair
da largura de um cabelo
and convert it into new matter,
e convertê-la em nova matéria,
from the very fabric of the universe.
da própria estrutura do universo.
about 35,000 accelerators in the world,
de 35 000 aceleradores no mundo,
incredible machines,
destas máquinas incríveis,
of tiny particles,
de partículas minúsculas,
that are more complex
em sistemas mais complexos
how incredible it is
to invest your time and energy
a investirem o vosso tempo e energia
curiosity-driven research.
guiada pela curiosidade.
of seeing the invisible."
J.J. Thompson did just that,
J.J. Thompson fez exactamente isso,
on the subatomic world.
in curiosity-driven research,
na pesquisa guiada 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.
as nossas descobertas.
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