Physics

The Buzz S2, Ep1: Do aliens exist?
The second season of The Buzz podcast begins with astrophysicist Dr Eamonn Kerins, who helps us answer one of life’s biggest questions: Do aliens exist?

The day Einstein came to The University of Manchester
When Albert Einstein came to the UK to speak about his Theory of Relativity, he chose The University of Manchester. Discover the story behind the lecture.

Celebrating FSE’s women in science
To mark the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we meet some of the women from FSE making their mark in science and technology.

Ernest Rutherford – the ‘crocodile’ physicist who never looked back
LONG READ: Discover the amazing life of Ernest Rutherford and the quirkier stories that shaped the man who ‘split the atom’ at Manchester and is regarded as the father of nuclear physics.

Football transfers – can you predict a quick success?
It’s impossible to predict whether a football transfer will work out… or is it? New research from the Department of Physics and Astronomy calculates how long it takes a new signing to adjust.

When Doctor Who came to Jodrell (and UoM’s other sci-fi hits)
Did you know that without mathematicians, the entire Universe would crumble and decay into nothing? At least, that’s according to a classic episode of Doctor Who (our School of Mathematics colleagues are good, but even they’re not holding-together-the-very-fabric-of-the-Universe good). Logopolis is the final instalment in the adventures of the Fourth Doctor, played by the legendary […]

Meet Manchester’s most inspiring alumni
When it comes to science and engineering, Manchester has an illustrious heritage. If you’ve joined the Faculty of Science and Engineering this week, read on to see in whose illustrious footsteps you’re following. Dr Bachir Ismaël Ouédraogo Burkina Faso’s Minister for Energy completed his PhD here at The University of Manchester, and he hopes that […]

One small step for man, one giant leap for Manchester
Like the plot of a movie, a team of students from across the Faculty of Science and Engineering have overcome some serious odds to claim victory at an international space probe competition in Texas. The fourth annual American Astronautical Society CanSat Competition took place at Tarleton State University; with a team from The University of […]

Like a diamond in the sky
‘Twinkle twinkle little star’ could prove itself more science lesson than nursery rhyme thanks to a new discovery. For the first time, diamonds far smaller than grains of sand have been observed shimmering around stars. But this discovery is more a case of A Touch of Frost than Frost of London, as it’s allowed a […]

Ain’t no sunshine when it’s gone
The sun is the great star of human existence in more ways than one. All life on Earth depends on it, and the creation of our very planet would have been impossible without it. You would think, therefore, that when it dies, our iconic star would go out in style. However, until recently, scientists were […]