by admin | Dec 14, 2018 | physical sciences
Deep, deep underground, surrounded by kilometres of solid rock, a team of scientists led by Professor Gilles Gerbier of Queen’s University, Canada, watches for a miniscule flicker of energy. A flicker that will, they hope, betray the existence of the most elusive...
by admin | Dec 7, 2018 | earth and environment, physical sciences
Imagine a world where we knew about earthquakes before they strike – days before a potentially lethal event. A world with an early warning system that would give us time to evacuate vulnerable buildings, to activate civil defence organisations, to minimise the loss of...
by admin | Nov 16, 2018 | engineering and tech, physical sciences
Creating technologies from multiple materials with different physical properties can be hugely beneficial, but the process doesn’t come without its challenges. As we fabricate new devices, an understanding of the physics occurring at the interfaces where different...
by admin | Nov 2, 2018 | physical sciences
Dr Simon Humphrey and Sam Dunning at the University of Texas at Austin have created a new lanthanide-based chemical sensor that can identify trace levels of water in many different solvents, and can even distinguish between normal water and ‘heavy water’. The team’s...
by admin | Oct 19, 2018 | physical sciences
When an electron is absorbed by a heavy atom or molecule, a heavy, negatively-charged ion is formed. These negative ions can be used for a wide array of useful applications, from organic solar cells to water purification. However, the electron absorption process for...
by admin | Oct 5, 2018 | physical sciences
Professor David Jewitt and his team at UCLA explore the nature of comets. These fleeting visitors to our cosmic shore are important sources of information, and can help to reveal the origin and evolution of the solar system. Most recently, Professor Jewitt’s team have...
