Tag Physics
IceCube: Antarctic neutrino detector to get $37 million upgrade
IceCube, which in 2018 helped unravel one of the oldest riddles in physics and astronomy — the origin of high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays — has received new funding to expand the detector and its scientific capabilities.
UW lab gears up for another Antarctic drilling campaign
The UW–Madison Physical Sciences Laboratory, which specializes in making customized equipment for UW–Madison researchers, will once again lead drilling operations for the IceCube neutrino observatory.
By dropping, throwing smart phones, students key into a 21st century approach to physics
In Professor Duncan Carlsmith's introductory physics classroom, smartphones are dropped, thrown and strapped to pendulums, and the data from their sensors is used to teach principles of physics.
Quantum science at UW–Madison joins exchange, invests in faculty and students
“By the investments we are making in quantum science and technology," says Steve Ackerman, "we are ... leading the way in concepts and technology that may revolutionize computing, communication, security and more.”
Swimming microbes steer themselves into mathematical order
The movement of crowds of things too small to easily see — like single-celled organisms and filaments inside individual cells responsible for cell-division — is critically important to research in materials science, engineering and biochemistry.
Taming turbulence: Seeking to make complex simulations a breeze
An improved model will more easily address previously intractable problems for understanding phenomena such as star formation and the dynamics of galaxies without the need for expensive supercomputers.
UW–Madison physics professor receives Moore Inventor Fellowship
Victor Brar is making new light sources the old-fashioned way, developing one to fill a niche where lasers are too expensive and LEDs inefficient.
New master’s in quantum computing offers training for a growing field
In a single calendar year, the program will catch students up on the fundamentals of quantum physics, cover the theory behind quantum computing, and teach students laboratory skills to construct the devices.
NSF awards UW $3 million to advance quantum physics, technology
The three UW–Madison grants are among 25 in an NSF initiative to fund major advances in quantum physics. In 2016, the agency identified quantum research as one of its 10 top funding priorities.
Physical Sciences Laboratory part of $1.6 million grant to plan for neutrino detector
The grant will expand the PSL’s technology for constructing specialized panels capable of detecting and studying neutrinos, ghostly subatomic particles.
UW physicists, CERN announce discovery of Higgs boson interactions
This is the first time scientists have measured the Higgs boson’s direct interaction with top quarks. Studying these particles gives clues about the nature of matter and mass in the universe.
Prototype camera set for integration into novel gamma-ray telescope
A unique high-speed camera, designed to capture the fleeting effects of gamma rays crashing into the Earth’s atmosphere, will soon be on its way from the University of Wisconsin–Madison to Arizona’s Mount Hopkins.
Ingersoll Physics Museum celebrates 100 years of hands-on education
Last year, more than 14,000 visitors came to the free museum to spin bicycle-wheel gyroscopes, crank electrical generators, and yank on pulleys.
Advance could enable novel high-performance materials
An engineering physics professor has created new materials that behave in an unusual way that defies the standard theory engineers use for designing things like buildings, airplanes, bridges and electronic devices.
Stellar magnetism: What’s behind the most brilliant lights in the sky?
"The best picture yet of magnetic reconnection in space” offer insight into the role of magnetic reconnection in celestial explosions, eruptions and extraordinary emissions of energy.
UW lab in Stoughton has equipped complex scientific projects for 50 years
“Without PSL, I would be a lonely theorist writing papers,” says Francis Halzen, UW–Madison physics professor and longtime principal investigator for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole.
IceCube helps demystify strange radio bursts from deep space
A University of Wisconsin–Madison physicist and his colleagues are turning IceCube, the world’s most sensitive neutrino telescope, to the task of helping demystify powerful pulses of radio energy generated up to billions of light-years from Earth.
Coral skeletons may resist the effects of acidifying oceans
Coral skeletons are the building blocks of diverse coral reef ecosystems, which has led to increasing concern over how these key species will cope with warming and acidifying oceans that threaten their stability.
Isotope maker breaks ground in Janesville: UW–Madison spinoff to employ 150
SHINE Medical Technologies, a firm spawned from research in the UW–Madison College of Engineering, broke ground today (Aug. 3) on “Building One” at its new location just south of Janesville.
Fox Racing’s founder got his start motorbiking at UW
UW grads Geoff and Josie Fox combined backgrounds in physics and art history, an appreciation for adventure, and a willingness to change course to gain incredible traction in the action sports industry.