A pioneering fusion of nuclear physics and audiovisual art will be showcased as part of the Royal Astronomical Society's third annual John Brown Memorial Lecture.
Named in honour of the former Astronomer Royal for Scotland and winner of the RAS Gold Medal, the public event will be held at the University of Glasgow on Friday 16 January 2026.
This year's lecture will be presented by Dr David Mahon, of the University of Glasgow's School of Physics & Astronomy, and Lomond Campbell, a BAFTA-winning artist and musician.
Together, they conceived the Muonophone, a unique audiovisual musical instrument which builds on Dr Mahon's research into the science of muons – harmless cosmic rays which constantly shower the Earth from space.
Dr Mahon has developed a groundbreaking imaging technique method called muography which can see inside materials. It which creates detailed 3D images of the interiors of structures by measuring the deflection of muons as they pass through the materials, enabling insights which are impossible using more conventional imaging techniques like X-rays.
The key component of Muonophone, designed and built by Lomond Campbell, is a muon detector based on Dr Mahon's research. The detector picks up on the presence of the muons as they pass through it and those detections to trigger pre-prepared sounds and visualisations to create a unique performance.
The lecture follows the successful initial run of a series of performances called MŮO at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The events showcased both live musical performances where Campbell played keyboards along with the output of the Muonophone, and installations where the Muonophone played its own visuals and soundscapes in response to the random detection of muons.
The lecture will cover both the science of muography and the collaboration behind the Muonophone.
Dr Mahon said: "I'm honoured to be presenting this year's John Brown Memorial Lecture with Lomond to discuss our collaboration at the intersection of science and art.
"We were delighted by the critical and audience reaction to the MŮO performances at the Fringe and I'm looking forward to discussing our work for this audience."
Mr Campbell said: "It's exciting to bring the Muonophone to Glasgow after the sell out success of our Fringe show MŮO in August.
"The John Brown Memorial Lecture will be a great opportunity to hear David expand on the science of muons and muography and to hear the Muonophone inaction."
The John Brown Memorial Lecture is named in honour of Professor John Brown, who passed away in 2019.
He was a long-standing supporter of the Royal Astronomical Society and its work, served on its governing Council, and was a key supporter of the Society's RAS200: Sky & Earth programme.
As Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow, his research focused on theoretical modelling of solar and stellar plasmas – the so-called fourth state of matter where very hot gas becomes ionised as atoms lose their outer electrons.
Alongside his academic work, John was renowned for his engaging public talks, often incorporating magic tricks to illustrate concepts.
The third lecture in the annual series will be held at the University of Glasgow's Wolfson Medical School between 5pm and 8pm on Friday 16 January. To book free tickets, click here.