Looking for dark energy – in the lab
August 21, 2019
This guest post from Dr. Ben Elder, a postdoctoral fellow in the Particle Theory and Cosmology Group, reporting on the very exciting publication of a research project. The aim? Trying to to understand nothing less than one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology by looking for experimental evidence in the lab! When we look at …
Staff-Student Summer Football Tournament
August 8, 2019
After exams and results and all the hard work from the academic year had passed back in June, it was time to celebrate a bit with a friendly sporting match between staff and students. Last year the sport of choice was cricket — this year: football. Cheers to undergraduates Hannah Coleman and Subin Saji for …
Quantum Sensing the brains of Cheltenham Science Festival
July 30, 2019
Guest post by Natalie Rhodes (3rd year MSci undergraduate) I was absolutely delighted to be invited to join a group of PhD students, Post Docs, and undergraduates to present to the public “Quantum Sensing the Brain” at the start of June. I had just finished my third year exams (the day before we went!) and …
Nottingham Physics Graduation 2019
July 18, 2019
A huge congratulations to all of our 2019 graduates who celebrated yesterday under beautiful sunny Nottingham skies. You should be very proud of the end result of your years of hard work. We wish you all happiness and fulfilment in your future plans! Nottingham Physics Graduating Prizewinners, 2019 Salmon Prize (Highest Achieving MSci Graduands): …
Brain Imaging on the BBC: Dementia Choir
May 10, 2019
Members of the Medical Imaging group from the School of Physics and Astronomy recently featured in a BBC documentary entitled “Our Dementia Choir“. In this guest post, Dr. Lauren Gascoyne and Dr. Rebecca Dewey describe the science behind the deep connection between music and our brains. The two-part show is available on demand from BBC …
Spring into Science 2019: thunderbolts and lightning for Year 8 students
May 7, 2019
One of the highlights of our Outreach programme is the now annual “Spring into Science” show: an interactive demonstration of light and sound designed for Year 8 students in the Nottingham area. Prof Philip Moriarty presents the show, with the support of Prof Ed Copeland and his outreach team and our wonderful technical support staff. …
Matilda’s report from CUWiP 2019
April 5, 2019
Matilda Chalk (2nd year Mathematical Physics student) recently attended the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) UK in the Department of Physics at Oxford University with support from the School’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. This highly successful annual event is hosted by the The Oxford Women in Physics Society, and brings together undergraduate women …
CSI: East Midlands
March 13, 2019
In this guest post by Dr. James Sharp, we learn about about cutting-edge new techniques used to measure fingerprints. A paper describing this work was published in the journal Science and Justice and was recently featured on BBC CrimeWatch Roadshow. For more information on how physics and forensics go together, see a previous post on this …
The physics of muesli
November 22, 2018
Ever wondered why the big bits rise to the top in a box of muesli? Dr. Mike Swift appeared on the Channel 4 show “Food Unwrapped” recently to explain the physics behind the so-called Brazil Nut Effect. Skip to 12:45 at the link below to see Mike give a demonstration of granular physics in action, …
Shivani Dave redefines the kilogram on Radio 4
November 18, 2018
Delighted to hear recent graduate Shivani Dave (2017 BSc, Physics) on Radio 4 explaining the redefinition of the kilogram earlier this week. No longer tied to a single lump of metal sitting in a vault in Paris, the new definition adopted on Friday at the General Conference on Weights and Measures in Paris redefines our …