Molecules are all around us. They make up the air we breathe, the food we eat, the medicines we take, the fuel that keeps us warm, our clothes, our furniture, our cars, and our computers. We can't see them, but over the centuries we have learned how to tame them and get them to behave according to our instructions. In these lectures, we will perform experiments that demonstrate how we can control chemical reactions to get the results we desire.

The sun lights up our lives for half of every year; the rest is darkness as night falls. Through the ages, scientists have endeavoured to make artificial sunlight, and we will follow their progress by examining the role of chemistry in generating light – from oil lamps and candles, through Joseph Swan's invention of the incandescent filament bulb, to energy-saving bulbs, light sticks, and LEDs. Did you know that Mosley Street in Newcastle was the first street in the world to be lit by electric lamps on 3^rd February 1879?

This series of lectures will be delivered by a team of staff and students from the School of Chemistry at Newcastle University. The School of Chemistry provides Masters and Bachelors level degrees in pure chemistry, industrial training, medicinal chemistry, and drug design. Research is focussed in the areas of Chemical Nanoscience, Molecular Photonics, Catalysis, Synthesis and Medicinal Chemistry, and Structural Chemistry and Spectroscopy. The talks and demonstrations will illustrate basic chemical principles, and will include links to some of our research activities. We hope that the lectures will excite you all about the magic of molecules, and their importance in the world today and tomorrow.