Patrick Irwin, Professor of Planetary Physics (from the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics group here in the Department of Physics) and global collaborators spectroscopically dissected the infrared light from Uranus captured by the eight-metre Gemini North telescope on Hawaii's Maunakea. They found hydrogen sulphide, the odiferous gas that most people avoid, in Uranus’s cloud tops.
News
18 April 2018
It is with sadness that we announce that Professor Sir Roger Elliott FRS, died on 16 April 2018 aged 89.
Roger was appointed to a University Lectureship in Theoretical Physics and a Tutorial Fellowship at St John’s College in 1957, was promoted to Reader in 1964, and held the Wykeham Professorship of Theoretical Physics 1974-88. He was elected FRS in 1976 and knighted in 1987. He was Physical Secretary and Vice-President of the Royal Society from 1984–1988, and served as chief executive of Oxford University Press from 1988 until 1993.
27 March 2018
The ATOM Festival of Science took place in Abingdon-on-Thames on March 10-18 2018. The festival, in its fifth year, celebrated Abingdon as the centre of science in Oxford and the Science Vale, including the Harwell Campus and Culham Science Centre.
The festival delivered diverse, imaginative and family-friendly events to allow local people to discover world-class science and technology taking place on their doorstep, as well as learning about the companies, organisations and scientists who make it happen.
27 March 2018
As online data moves faster, becomes more complex and contains highly sensitive information, advanced encryption methods are required to protect against data breaches. Random number generation (RNG) is used in encryption within a multitude of applications, including e-commerce and high frequency trading.
21 March 2018
We are now seeking industrial partners with problems to solve for the academic year 2018/19. This is an opportunity for your company to get some external input from enthusiastic and intelligent Oxford Physics undergraduates. In return, our students learn how their physics training can be applied in industry.
21 March 2018
The mystery of how comets are able to emit X-rays has been solved by a team led by the University of Oxford.
The research published in Nature Physics considers the longstanding scientific question of how comets are able to radiate X-rays. A conundrum that is particularly puzzling, given that such emission is normally associated with very hot objects like the Sun, and comets are among the coldest objects in the Solar System.
15 March 2018
Professor Stephen Hawking, 1942-2018
On 13 March 2018, physicists awoke to news that Prof Stephen Hawking, surely Oxford’s best known physics undergraduate (Univ. 1959), had died peacefully in his sleep. He leaves behind a monumental legacy.
14 March 2018
Congratulations to three MPLS academics who have been appointed as members of the new UK Research and Innovation Councils, which will replace the existing Research Councils on 1 April 2018 when UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is formally established.
13 March 2018
Oxford Physics will participate for the first time in the Oxfordshire Artweeks and will exhibit art work by members of the Department on the 12.05/13.05 and 18.05.2018 in the Beecroft Building. The Oxfordshire Artweeks is an annual event that showcases art pieces around Oxfordshire in people’s homes and community centres or other venues.
13 March 2018
The Access and Academic Affairs team at Oxford Student Union launched a project this academic year to try to encourage and support students who get involved in access work throughout the Collegiate University. As part of this project they awarded certificates of recognition alongside a letter of thanks to students who have made a contribution to access and outreach at Oxford.
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