news

Chemistry - Physics/Material Science - 12.06
Molecular ’sieves’ harness ultraviolet irradiation for greener power generation
Latest research uses membrane technology for 'energy efficient' gas separation - a crucial part of many major industrial processes and important focus for increased sustainability in global energy production.

Microtechnics/Electroengineering - Physics/Material Science - 7.06
Plastic electronics made easy
Scientists have discovered a way to better exploit a process that could revolutionise the way that electronic products are made. - The scientists from Imperial College London say improving the industrial process, which is called crystallisation, could revolutionise the way we produce electronic products, leading to advances across a whole range of fields; including reducing the cost and improving the design of plastic solar cells (see pull-out box).

Physics/Material Science - Computer Science/Telecom - 16.05
Catching graphene butterflies
16 May 2013 - Wonder material graphene, when combined with other graphene-like materials, paves the way for vast new areas of scientific discovery and previously unheard-of applications, University of Manchester researchers have revealed.

Physics/Material Science - Microtechnics/Electroengineering - 13.05
Graphene joins the race to redefine the ampere
A new joint innovation by the University of Cambridge and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK's National Measurement Institute, could pave the way for redefining the ampere in terms of fundamental constants of physics.

Physics/Material Science - Chemistry - 7.05
Another ’trophy’ for the chemistry cabinet
The search for cleaner, low temperature nuclear fuels has produced a shock result for a team of experts at The University of Nottingham. - First they created a stable version of a ‘trophy molecule' that has eluded scientists for decades.

Physics/Material Science - 3.05
How graphene and friends could harness the Sun’s energy
03 May 2013 - Combining wonder material graphene with other stunning one-atom thick materials could create the next generation of solar cells and optoelectronic devices, scientists have revealed.

Physics/Material Science - Astronomy - 27.04
New matter-antimatter difference
27 Apr 2013 - A subtle difference between matter and antimatter has been observed for the first time by the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Physics/Material Science - Astronomy - 25.04
CERN reveals new matter-antimatter difference
The LHCb collaboration at CERN has made its first observations of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the decays of the particle known as the B0s. - Matter and antimatter are thought to have existed in equal amounts at the beginning of the universe, but today the universe appears to be composed essentially of matter.

Physics/Material Science - 3.04
Latest results indicate new particle is Higgs boson
Latest results from CERN further reinforce that the particle discovered last year is a Higgs boson. - Following the latest results from CERN scientist are more certain than ever about the identity of the particle discovered last year.

Astronomy - Physics/Material Science - 21.03
Planck captures portrait of the young Universe, revealing earliest light
Satellite's first all-sky image is the most detailed picture to date of the early Universe, giving us a better understanding of its birth.

Astronomy - Physics/Material Science - 11.03
Auroras shine light on solar flares
Astrophysicists at the University of Glasgow are looking to the Northern and Southern Lights to expand our understanding of solar flares. - In a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers from the University's School of Physics and Astronomy suggest magnetic waves, which contribute to the formation of auroras on Earth, could help energy from solar flares travel tens of thousands of kilometres in under a second.

Physics/Material Science - Astronomy - 7.03
The Liverpool View: Did we discover a Higgs?
July 4th, 2012 – a landmark, red-letter day in a physicist's calendar. It was the day that CERN webcast a special seminar of the latest results from the Large Hadron Collider. It was the day when the world went particle physics mad, celebrating the discovery of the long sought and long elusive Higgs boson.

Earth Sciences - Physics/Material Science - 26.02
Palaeontologist reveals insects’ colourful past
An international research team led by a University of Bristol scientist has explained the preservation of colours in fossil insects for the first time. - The discovery explains why colours change and why they are destroyed during fossilisation, revealing hidden gems in the insect fossil record that could help reconstruct the evolution of colours in insects. - The paper has just been published online in the journal Geology.

Earth Sciences - Physics/Material Science - 22.02
Exploring the roots of volcanic eruptions: insights from deep magmatic processes
An exploration of deep magmatic processes occurring in the Earth's crust beneath volcanoes, which could contribute to linking these physical processes at depth with volcanic eruptions at the surface, has been carried out by researchers from the University of Bristol and the Swiss Federal Institute in Zurich.

Physics/Material Science - Astronomy - 7.02
New Sussex study furthers Einstein’s ’theory of everything’
Sussex physicists have taken a small step towards fulfilling Einstein's dream of proving there is only one fundamental force in nature. - Following last year's discovery of the Higgs boson particle – the so-called “God particle” that answers how the particles have masses - Xavier Calmet and PhD student Michael Atkins looked at how the Higgs field interacts with gravity.