Professor Sir Roy Sambles amazes guests in ‘What is light?’ lecture at The King’s School in Grantham

A renowned scientist has wowed students in an annual lecture.

Students from The King’s School in Grantham were left enthralled after a visit from Professor Sir Roy Sambles on March 19.

Speaking in two sessions, Professor Sambles gave demonstrations and talks for this year’s Newton Lecture at the school.

Headmaster Simon Pickett: “It was an honour to host such a prestigious scientist as Sir Roy for our annual Newton Lecture.

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“From observing the expressions on the faces of the audience, he inspired many of the young minds, and older ones, to start questioning the world around them.

“His superb demonstrations and clearly articulated explanations brought the complex subject of light and colour to life for the audience of all ages.”

In the afternoon, Professor Sambles demonstrated and explained the works of scientists Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Young and Albert Einstein to years 10, 11, 12 and 13.

Included in his talk was the story of the Morpho butterfly, known for the optical properties of its vibrant blue wings, which can be seen from up to a quarter mile away.

In the evening, the professor included a series of demonstrations into his lecture on the ways light and colour are created in science and nature.

Among the questions he addressed were ‘why is the sky blue’, ‘how does a rainbow form’ and ‘why is the sunset red’.

Originally from Cornwall, Sir Roy is a former president of the Institute of Physics.

He studied physics at Imperial College, London, gaining his BSc and PhD degrees there, and has since published over 550 papers in international journals.

He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in May 2002.

He is currently Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Exeter, where he has studied a wide range of systems including liquid crystal devices, iridescent butterfly wings and microwave photonics.