- Thousands of hours of innovative lectures are trapped on fragile tapes
- The collection covers mathematics, physics, philosophy and the history of science
- Access to copyright restrictions, but thousands of records are already available
The crowdfunding efforts led by the Nobel physicist Roger Penrose Roger Penrose to protect one of the largest archives of scientific records ever collected.
A projectIt is rooted in Cambridge and is supported by a registered charitable organization, seeks to digitize and restore more than 100,000 hours of lectures, conferences and discussions recorded from the beginning of the 1970s.
The collection covers mathematics, physics, philosophy and the history of science, in which many of the most influential figures of the past half a century participate.
Need for digital preservation
Most of the archive remains stored in fragile analog media, leaving it vulnerable to decay and technological obsolescence. The organizers argue that without timely actions, indispensable ideas can be lost.
The goal is to postpone these records to ensure a digital storage, providing both long -term conservation and broader accessibility.
The database available for the search will allow researchers and the public to interact with the material that reflects the evolution of scientific thought, as it happened.
Archival documents are exchanged among hundreds of prominent thinkers. He includes Stephen Hawking's lectures on the emission of the black hole, Roger Penrose in mathematical physics and Alexanra Grothendik on abstract algebra.
Other participants are John Wheeler, Abdus Salam, Karl Popper and Michael Dammet, as well as a wide range of mathematicians, physicists and philosophers, whose ideas have formed modern research.
The collection is a unique intellectual record, offering an idea of ​​the development of theories from their earliest stages to their adoption as basic knowledge.
More than 7000 preliminary records already need specialized transmission methods, while many elements require improvement due to poor recording conditions.
Extended software for the restoration of audio, such as CEDAR, is used to improve clarity and attract records in accordance with current standards.
After digitizing, the material will be organized in a comprehensive system available for search by replacing the current index with a limited table.
Only the notes that are either outside the copyright or have obvious permits can be published at present publicly.
Nevertheless, this already includes thousands of hours of content, with additional materials that become available over time.
The organizers emphasize that the purpose of the project is to provide open access, preventing a hidden collection for Paywalls.
Crowdfunding campaign is aimed at collecting 50,000 pounds to support digitizing, restoring and developing databases.
Until now, it reached 19,773 pounds, which is 39%, and with the remaining less than three weeks it is recommended to contribute to supporters and help to ensure free public access to this historical scientific resource.
Watch Techradar in Google News And Add us as a preferred source To get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your channels. Be sure to click the “following” button!
And, of course, you can also Follow Techradar on Tiktok For news, reviews, unpacking in the form of video and regular updates from us on WhatsApp too much.
