David Wark, Special Supernumerary Fellow and Professor of Experimental Particle Physics at Balliol College, University of Oxford, presents his lecture on the history of fundamental physics over the last 750 years of Balliol’s existence. This riveting lecture spans from the early Greek philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, touching on the contributions of individuals from the University of Oxford over the years, and arrives at a detailed exploration of the recent discovery of the Higgs particle to discuss the impact such a discovery has had in the recent years of scientific enquiry. The lecture is aided by the rich collection of literature- usually hidden within the walls of the Balliol library but revealed for this special occasion- allowing the viewer to see numerous seminal texts in physics in their early printed form.
