It’s 5:30pm on a cold and overcast February Friday night. But that doesn’t stop over 500 revellers wrapping up and coming to STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) for the ‘Stargazing at RAL’ event, an evening of science, exploration and delicious onion bhaji burgers.
On Thursday 11 February 2016, an international team of scientists announced the first-ever detection of gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space-time predicted by Einstein a century ago.
Graphene is a 2D carbon crystal, which means that it is only one atom thick. It’s a million times thinner than a piece of paper, and yet it’s stronger than steel and conducts electricity better than copper. At the same time it’s flexible, and stretchy, and can be rolled up into carbon nanotubes. Science and industry alike are very excited about its potential.
It’s bad enough when you finish your sandwich at lunch time, and still feel hungry - imagine if you left your student sandwich placement feeling the same way. Sign up for something you can really get your teeth into, by applying for a placement with STFC.
Space-age laser science could save thousands of people a worrying wait for breast cancer test results. The original concept was developed at our Central Laser Facility and applied to cancer diagnosis in partnership with Prof Nicholas Stone (Exeter University), a pioneering technique that can safely and non-invasively analyse tissue deep below the skin could allow abnormalities detected during mammograms to be investigated there and then.
We're serious scientists here at STFC - we believe in facts, not magic. But since it's Halloween, we've handed over to a team of undead editors with a vested interest in the seriously spooky. You might want to make sure the lights are on before you start reading....
STFC scientists are actively researching in all of these areas, which are big data, agri-science, satellites, robotics and autonomous systems, synthetic biology, regenerative medicine, energy storage, and advanced materials.
Boulby is a special place for science, the deep underground environs enabling a diverse range of studies from astro/particle physics to studies of geology, geophysics, climate, the environment, life on Earth and beyond.
The eight great technologies are: big data, satellites, robotics and autonomous systems, synthetic biology, regenerative medicine, advanced materials, energy storage, and agri-science.
If there’s one thing that can make or break our time off, it’s the weather. We certainly seem to have a lot of it, and it can seem like the forecast never brings us what we want.
Last updated: 18 February 2016
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