University of Leicester Open Journals
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A1 4 Can I Pet That Dog?
No full textThis paper demonstrates a study of the seismological impacts of Entei’s bark power from the worldof Pokémon. We find that an energy of 3.23 × 1020 J is released in a 1 second bark, an outputpowerful enough to level cities and cause massive destruction
P3 5 A Nuclear Spark for Mars
No full textThis speculative analysis explores the hypothetical use of high-yield thermonuclear devices, such as Tsar Bomba equivalents (50 Mt), delivered via a borehole in the thinnest crustal regions (e.g., ∼ 6 − 10 km at Isidis Planitia), to inject energy into the planet’s interior. We refine estimates for progressive rock vaporisation to deepen the shaft and calculate the energy needed to enhance core convection sufficiently for dynamo reactivation. We estimate requirements on the order of ∼ 1029 J, equating to trillions to tens of trillions of such devices - even with optimistic efficiencies - highlighting the profound impracticality
A2 3 Cosmic Cuisine
No full textThis paper explores the time taken for a Turkey to be cooked with Cosmic Background Radiation (CMB), at an epoch corresponding to oven temperatures. We found that this occurred when the universe was 6 x 10^6 years old. Under a constant-power assumption for radiative heat transfer, the time taken for the turkey to reach safe eating temperatures was around 51 minutes and through an integrated model, this was increased to 57 minutes
A5 4 Trust Me, Bro, Just One More Particle Accelerator...
No full textWe consider the effects of increasingly large particle accelerators, approaching the ridiculous in scale, and how these could lead to pivotal discoveries. We find that accelerators using current magnet technology on a continental scale could be used to find Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), on an Earth-Moon system scale could be used to answer questions surrounding Supersymmetry, and on an interstellar scale could allow us to reach the Grand Unified Theory (GUT). We conclude that improving magnet technology is more important than scale
A5 5 Between Suns: The Empty Space Between Oort Clouds
No full textWe estimate whether the Sun’s outer Oort cloud overlaps the nearest stellar system’s (AlphaCentauri’s) analogous reservoir, i.e., its hypothetical outer Oort cloud. Because Oort clouds aretheoretical and not directly imaged [1], we adopt canonical sizes and a mass-scaling motivatedby tidal/Hill arguments [2]. Using present-day separations D ∼ (2.6− 2.76) × 105 AU [3] andROC ∼ 105 AU [4] for the Sun (with the neighbour’s radius ROC,⋆ = ROC,⊙(M⋆/M⊙)1/3 [2]), wefind no overlap. Along the line connecting the systems, the linear gap is ∼ 3.4× 104− 5.0× 104 AU. This remains true when enforcing the gravitational balance (L1) limit and even under an extreme, enlarged Solar Oort cloud. This provides a clear gravitational boundary for the outer Solar System and a baseline for interpreting long-period comets and interstellar visitors
P5 9 The Cheese-ibility of Fondue on the Moon
No full textThis paper considers the effects of tidal heating on a moon made of cheese, with a brief discussionof solar heating, in an attempt to find the depth at which the perfect fondue can be found. Theideal temperature for fondue is 338 K and we calculated this could be found approximately 2 maway from the core
P2 9 The Lack of Colour from Outer Space
No full textIn this paper, we investigate the properties of the Outer Ones from the H.P. Lovecraft shortstory The Whisperer from the Darkness, specifically their apparent invisibility in photographs.We derive a simple optical model considering the dependence of reflectance on the wavelength ofincident light. We find that for photographs taken with a 1930s-style camera, the Outer Onesmust have a refractive index that increases with wavelength, controlled by a dispersion coefficientof B = −0.59 μm2
Use of Portfolios to add Generative AI Resilience to Chemistry Final Year Literature Projects: Staff Perceptions
No full textConcerned about the vulnerability of final year literature projects to Generative AI (GAI), a portfolio assessment to document a students’ project is described. Students are required to record all aspects of the project including critical reflections of the literature and reflections on meetings with their project supervisor. A qualitative evaluation of supervisor feedback has been carried out revealing that alongside GAI resilience, supervisors perceive the portfolio assessment enhances staff and student experience, promoting enhanced student attainment and engagement, allowing staff to better monitor student progress, increase staff-supervisor meeting efficiency and increase the overall robustness of the supervisor generated mark
Challenging culture, centring voice: reflections from the Wellcome I-REACCH project and its Mirror Leadership Team
No full textThis working paper introduces I-REACCH (Inclusive Research Environment Achieved through Culture Change), a two-year Wellcome-funded project based at the University of Leicester (May 2024 – April 2026) that explores research culture and seeks make recommendations for ways to improve inclusivity. While rooted in the University of Leicester’s context, its findings aim to inform and inspire change across the wider UK research environment. Central to the project is its Mirror Leadership Team, an experimental model of collaborative leadership that brings diverse perspectives into decision-making. Early reflections show that genuine influence, rather than tokenistic consultation, enables meaningful engagement and cultural change. The model demonstrates that clear structures, protected time, and transparent communication are essential for effective participation. Including lived experience and multiple voices fosters empowerment, accountability, and the potential for long-term impact, offering a practical approach for research culture initiatives across the UK higher education sector
Museum Ecologies: Museum things as guides for how to deal with ecological challenges in the Anthropocene
No full textNew research highlights the importance of making more productive connections between museum work and the environment to take action and work more sustainably. This paper provides a novel entry on how to understand museum things as consisting of bundles of ecological relations. This new way of understanding how things exist provides an important method for tracing how museums impact environmental change. In our pilot study Museum Ecologies, we have worked with digital collection databases as an example to show how museum collections are interlinked with climate change and climate change transitions. The research elaborates and expands upon the museum pedagogic method, Tingenes Metode, to explore how this can be developed beyond its anthropocentric notions, using environmental humanities perspectives, and tools from a variety of thinkers within critical feminist post-human and new materialist theories. This paper investigates how museums and cultural heritages, observed, and understood as ecological agents, can guide us as we struggle to find new ways to live in the Anthropocene