Ignition Achieved in Nuclear Fusion
Daniel Plummer reports on the news that ignition has been achieved in nuclear fusion, and explains what this means for renewable energy.
Physics & Astronomy
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ESA approves plans for research into Space Based Solar Power
Olivia Allen reports on the European Space Agency’s announcement that they will launch SOLARIS, a project to research space-based solar power.
NASA’s DART mission
Ilka Boran reports on NASA’s recent DART mission, and discusses the future of planetary defence from asteroids.
How close are we to fusion power?
By Molly Hammond This article was originally published in The Oxford Scientist Michaelmas Term 2021 edition, Change. Nuclear fusion is supposedly ‘always 30 years away’. It was however first theorised about a hundred years ago. What has changed in a century of research—and are we now, really, only 30 years away? In 1920, Arthur Eddington…
A Conversation with Professor Rob Fender
Catch our first ever CHALK TALK happening 6th of May at 8pm ! Our first speaker, Professor Rob Fender, who is currently the head of the Astrophysics sub-department, will deliver an exciting discussion regarding his research interests as well as other relevant topics The Teams link to access this talk can be found in our…
Explosions: Inventions and Uses
Bang! A gun shot. Or the burst of a firework. Explosions, big and small, can cause delight or pain, but always manage to grab your attention. Over the centuries they have been used to win wars, break through defences, and mine deep into the earth for precious materials. But the power they have to generate…
ESA’s exploration of the Sun: What can ‘Solar Orbiter’ teach us?
At 5:03 CET on Monday 10th February, a NASA Atlas V4 11 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying with it ESA’s aptly named latest mission: Solar Orbiter. Within an hour, the spacecraft detached from the rocket, and began flying solo, carefully guided by a team on the ground in Germany. Since then, the…
Chalk Talks, 2nd December
Nathan Walemba The quantum computer was first theorised by Richard Feynman in 1982. Nathan Walemba, a 1st year undergraduate studying Materials Science, gave his Chalk Talk on what a quantum computer is and how far they have come since their original proposal. Feynman’s suggestion sparked a frantic race between companies such as Google, D-Wave and…
Nancy Roman, ‘Mother of Hubble’ NASA astronomer, has died aged 93
By Amity Roberts Photograph: Nasa Archive/Alamy Nancy Roman, a boundary-breaking astronomer known as the ‘Mother of the Hubble’, died aged 93 on December 25th, 2018. Roman was NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy and supervised the planning and development of the Hubble Space Telescope that would change the way we see the universe. Roman was born…