Parameters for Understanding Uncertainty (P4UU)
Parametres for Understanding Uncertainty (P4UU) is an artistic research project organised and led by artist researcher Rebecca Collins. The project investigates how methodologies used in creative practice meet those in the physical sciences.
Funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Rebecca infiltrated our research group, originally as an observer (listener?), participating in our meetings, discussions and musings about dark matter and astroparticle physics. Soon becoming a full member of the team, we used our joint expertise in creative practice, particle physics, and media and communications to investigate how sound technology is used to push at the limits of what we know about the Universe.
The project led to encounters between artists, musicologists and scientists; a creative workshop in a remote location on the Basque mountains; an exposition «Listening to Dark Matter» and multitude of talks and research material.
For more information about the P4UU project and a full list of the activities as well as scientific and artistic outcomes, follow this link.
Podcasts
Edinburgh College of Art Podcast
Episode 3. Dr Rebecca Collins and Dr David Cerdeño: Listening to Dark Matter
Our Universe contains vast amounts of dark matter that neither emits nor absorbs light. While we can’t directly detect these invisible particles, its presence can be rendered more resonant. This episode brings together theoretical physics and artistic research. We learn about the cosmic silence at Canfranc Underground Laboratory, 800m below the Pyrenees, and listen to particle collisions recorded by acoustic detectors 2.5.km below the surface of the Mediterranean.
Videos
Materia oscura y jóvenes investigadoras: no las vemos, pero sabemos que están ahí
Marina Cermeño
Public talk for the «Residencia de Estudiantes» on Science Week (17/02/2023)
Arte y Ciencia: Investigación Artística y Arte Sonoro
Rebecca Collins
Talk for the «Residencia de Estudiantes» in the cycle «The Enigmas of Fundamental Physics» (10/11/2022)
Avances en la búsqueda de Materia Oscura
David Cerdeño
Talk for the «Residencia de Estudiantes» (10/11/2016) in the series «The challenges of Fundamental Science».
Escuchando la Materia Oscura
Rebecca Collins and David Cerdeño
Talk for the «Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos», La Laguna, 25 November 2022