Impact

Business and innovation

Microwave ovens are one form of technology that came about by accident, not design.

From Post-it Notes to microwaves – why serendipity lies at the heart of innovation

Accidental discoveries lie at the heart of many technological innovations. James McKenzie runs through his favourites

Tools that were originally designed to enhance optical microscopy proved key to developing Opsydia's laser-etching system.

Making their mark

How fundamental research on adaptive optics led Martin Booth, Patrick Salter and Andrew Rimmer to start a company that uses lasers to create microscopic marks inside ...

Powerful blue lasers are a better choice for welding.

The blue solution

Powerful blue lasers are producing the high-quality copper welds needed to make batteries for electric vehicles, as Richard Stevenson reports

Some like it cold: cryogenic innovation forges quantum opportunities

Cryogenics specialist ICEoxford has reinforced its international reputation for product innovation with a 2020 Queen’s Award for Enterprise

Could ammonia be the secret to shipping carbon-free?

James McKenzie wonders if ammonia could hold the key to greener shipping

Novel tools aim to accelerate physics research

Learn about some of the product innovations that were due to be announced at the American Physical Society's March Meeting

Education and outreach

Space science and engineering: the journey starts here

University College London’s MSc in space science and engineering offers graduate physicists a unique opportunity

Ask me anything: Priyamvada Natarajan

The theoretical astrophysicist, professor and director of the Franke Program in Science and the Humanities at Yale University gives her advice to physics graduates

Physics teaching: subject specialists can bridge the attainment gap

Ark Teacher Training wants to attract more physics graduates to support its mission of delivering better educational outcomes for children in disadvantaged communities

Inquiry-led physics lab courses boost student engagement, finds study

Students have better attitudes to experimental physics if lab classes teach experimention skills, not reinforce lecture content

Careers for physicists in a dynamic world

PhD students at a careers event in Edinburgh, UK picked up tips from physicists in data science, hi-tech manufacturing, medical AI and more

CityU_20190522-Group-students and faculty members from CityU’s Department of Physics

CityU physics: east meets west on a growth trajectory

City University of Hong Kong has ambitious plans to deliver global recognition and impact from its fast-growing physics research programme

Policy and funding

Learning from Black Swan events

Christopher Lavers says that when it comes to dealing with COVID-19, lessons should have been learned from previous crises

A call for unity within particle physics

Regardless of which high-energy collider design gets the CERN council's approval, Tessa Charles argues that proponents of competing proposals need to work well together

Ask me anything: Crystal Bailey

The head of career programmes at the American Physical Society gives her advice to physics graduates

Tackling the grand challenges

Nobel laureate Steven Chu from Stanford University talks about his successes as energy secretary and tells Richard Blaustein how the US can collaborate in a competitive envi...