STFC produces a wide range of free publications; from magazines and technical reports to scientific teaching resources suitable for use in schools. We also provide free access to scientific publications produced by our partners and other organisations.
All of our publications are free to download via the links below, or you can order hard copies using our order form.
Search our open archive of STFC research publications in our e-pubs database.
Gender Pay Gap legislation (developed by the Government Equalities Office) introduced in April 2017 requires all employers of 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap for workers in scope as of 5 April 2017.
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Detector technologies and the supporting instrumentation are critical components of much of the experimental research that STFC supports in particle physics, nuclear physics, astronomy and at the national and international facilities. In order to help STFC develop its future detector strategy, we commissioned an independent panel of UK and international experts in detector and instrumentation technologies to carry out a review across all the detector areas relevant to STFC’s science areas.
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This document provides a stepping stone towards the development of STFC's first Strategic Delivery Plan, due to be published early in 2019. It sets out how STFC can make a major contribution to the success of UK Research and Innovation, by developing and exploiting its areas of science and its critical large-scale research infrastructures that support industrial and academic researchers across the whole spectrum of science. It also sets a path for capitalising on the inherently international nature of STFC's activities to enhance the UK's global potential
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This report presents the findings on how STFC's recipients of public engagement awards have responded to institutional PE funding, and the impact of these investments have had in changing research practice, reward and recognition, and demonstration of impact from an online survey conducted between November 2015 and January 2016. The report was produced by Hugh Hope-Stone.
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The Attitudes, Culture & Ethos report uncovers and summarises the perspectives of the STFC research community towards undertaking public engagement, including positive steps that should be taken to increase the impact and longevity of STEM engagement.
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Our Evaluation Framework provides an approach that aids the systematic planning and evaluation of public engagement activities, in order to help report, improve, and celebrate the outcomes and impacts of public engagement.
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This report presents the findings from a project to examine the prevailing ethos of and attitudes towards public engagement with research and provide insights into engagement practice in key university schools/departments in receipt of STFC grant funding. The research comprised a series of interviews with researchers from eighteen UK universities, undertaken in late November/early December 2015. The report was produced by Ann Grand.
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Our mission is to use our stories, community and facilities as the basis of world-class public engagement that inspires and involves people with our science and technology.
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The INTERACT public engagement symposium took place in September 2019 at the University of Central Lancashire. it was attended by over 200 delegates.
The key aim of Interact was to further cultivate a community of engagement practitioners within the physical sciences who develop high quality STEM engagement and support a culture of strategic and reflective practice.
Building on the outcomes of the 2017 Interact symposium and its evaluation report this report highlights what worked well, draws out on lessons learned and makes further recommendations to assist anyone who may wish to plan for a similar event. The report also showcases the rich landscape for Outreach and Public Engagement that currently exists in the physical sciences across the UK and highlights opportunities for its continued development and how we can best support it in future.
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The INTERACT Symposium took place in September 2017 whose aim was to cultivate a community of engagement practitioners within the physical sciences who develop high quality STEM engagement and encourage a culture of strategic and reflective practice.
This evaluation report highlights what worked well, draws out on lessons learned and makes recommendations to assist anyone who may wish to plan for a similar event. The report also showcases the rich landscape for Outreach and Public Engagement that currently exists in the physical sciences across the UK and highlights opportunities for its continued development.
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Our Corporate Strategy 2010 - 2020, developed after extensive consultation with, and input from, our staff, research communities, academic and international collaborators and commercial partners, provides a clear framework toward achieving our Vision –'to maximise the impact of our science and technology for the benefit of the UK and its people'. Published 2010.
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STFC is required to lay an annual report and accounts before Parliament each financial year. The report and accounts outlines a year of significant scientific and technological achievement. It also contains audited accounts and mandatory information such as reporting on environmental impact and health & safety data.
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STFC is required to lay an Annual Report and Accounts before Parliament each financial year. The publication outlines a year of significant scientific and technological achievement, as well as presenting audited accounts and mandatory information - such as reporting on environmental impact and health and safety data.
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The STFC Technology Strategy provides our technology programme with long term vision and focus to help us achieve greater impact for both STFC science and the UK. Our strategy is based around three strategic goals: STFC will develop technology first and foremost to underpin STFC’s science and facilities; STFC will strategically manage a technology programme encompassing blue-skies R&D to working systems; and STFC will support exploitation technology developed for STFC’s science and facilities for other applications and through industry.
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In 2014-2015 STFC conducted a strategic review of its current computing capability and future requirements of its scientific and industrial user communities. These communities include STFC-funded researchers; users of STFC National Facilities; other science communities supported by computing facilities or services hosted by STFC; and clients of the Hartree Centre. The Review covers hardware, data services, software, cyber security, networks and computing professionals. The Review Panel consulted with the users of STFC computing and other stakeholders to develop its recommendations.
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Covering the period 2016 to 2020, this Delivery Plan builds on our achievements and track record of delivering major projects on time and within budget and ensures that the world's most complex scientific infrastructure is sustained at the cutting edge for UK researchers.
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Incorporating a suite of proposals aimed at strengthening our science base and maximising the economic benefits to the UK that flow from our research, the Plan is built around three key areas of expenditure: international subscriptions, UK large facilities and STFC’s core programme.
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A brochure looking at the National Space Integration Facility (R100), an innovative addition to the Harwell Oxford Space Gateway.
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The conceptual design report for CLARA (Compact Linear Accelerator for Research and Applications). Published in July 2013.
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A look back at the most exciting stories about STFC science in 2013-14. Published in May 2014.
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Advances in healthcare bring significant social and economic benefit. Increased life expectancy, improved quality of life; a more active population; a healthier workforce; less pressure on healthcare services and budgets these are some of the prizes that ultimately depend on research breakthroughs in medicine, health and the biological sciences that underpin them.
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STFC’s Strategy for Cancer sets out how we will harness our key strengths and capabilities to help address three priority areas associated with cancer: diagnosis, radiotherapy and long-term patient follow-up. Published in 2015.
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STFC's Hartree Centre brochure, looking at how intense computing delivers insight and value.
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The ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Annual Review details the work of the world-leading facility over the past year, including science highlights, major instrument and accelerator developments and the facility’s publications for the year.
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STFC's ASTeC (Accelerator Science and Technology Centre) Science Highlights presents a yearly look at our ASTeC department's activities as a centre of excellence in accelerator research and development.
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In this brochure, discover the world-class space science, research and technology developments happening at STFC's RAL Space. Published in 2012.
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The Innovations Newsletter is produced on a regular basis of 10 issues a year and circulated to Innovation Club members.
The Newsletter provides organisations and academics with information on STFC technology development, knowledge transfer and enterprise activities. It also disseminates information about our programme and related external activities.
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Highlights from this edition:
Plus much more!
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UK News from CERN (UKNFC) is a newsletter for anyone with an interest in CERN. Whether you're interested in CERN science and technology, career opportunities for students, teachers and researchers, or you'd like to become a CERN supplier, UKNFC brings you all the latest news and opportunities.
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When complete, the ELT will be by far the largest visible-to-mid infrared telescope ever built.
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From the discovery of dark matter to the advent of HIV medication, women in research and innovation have changed the world. Here we celebrate some of the women who have inspired us.
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First detected in 2015, Gravitational Waves was hailed as the discovery of a generation. The discovery has the potential to revolutionise the way we study the universe.
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On the ground and in space, a global family of giant telescopes – present and future – is designed to gather visible and invisible light from across the Cosmos.
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Cosmic rays were first discovered by the Austrian-born physicist Victor Hess in 1912. Making a balloon flight, he measured the level of ionising radiation in the atmosphere and found that it increased with altitude. He concluded that the radiation was non-terrestrial in origin.
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A crystal consists of atoms (or molecules) regularly arranged a bit like a 3D chessboard. When X-rays are shone onto the crystal, some of them are scattered at various angles by the atoms. The scattered X-rays – a type of electromagnetic wave – interfere with one another, either cancelling or constructively enhancing each other to produce a series of spots of increased intensity on a photographic plate or electronic detector. This diffraction pattern is defined by the atomic arrangement in the material.
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The Large Hadron Collider (or as it’s more commonly known – the LHC) is a discovery machine – built to solve the mysteries about how the Universe works. It is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. 100m beneath the Franco-Swiss border the LHC.
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Venus has a similar interior to Earth, with a partially molten core, mantle and crust, so why does it not have a similar magnetic field? It had one for a billion years, generated by convection currents in the core, driven by left over heat after Venus’s formation. When that energy ran out 3.5 billion years ago, the field disappeared. This didn’t happen on Earth.
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The Sun is our nearest star. It provides the Earth, which orbits at a distance of 150 million kilometres, the right amount of light and heat to support life.
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How did the Universe get to be as it is, when it could all have There are still very big questions about been so very different?
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This document details a collection of teaching resources available from STFC and partner organisations that use particle and nuclear physics as an inspirational context for STEM learning.
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This document introduces the "Big Telescope collection", a set of teaching resources held on the National STEM-library that use these giant instruments as an inspirational context for STEM learning.
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STFC is one of Europe’s largest publicly funded science and technology organisations supporting research in Universities and Laboratories, developing technologies and providing facilities. We also provide skilled people , knowledge exchange and public engagement which includes a schools programme. We also produce resources which are available FREE of charge and can be ordered directly from our website. Each of our National Laboratories has a dedicated schools programme, involving tours, talks, activities, teacher CPD and lots more.
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An easy, pocket-sized, guide to help you navigate your way around the sky at night. The download A4 version is designed ready for you to print on a standard duplex printer. If you are a school or group and would like a set of between 100 and 1200 pocket starcharts please feel free to order.
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Planck is Europe’s first mission to study the relic radiation from the Big Bang. Ever since the detection of small fluctuations in the temperature of this radiation, announced in late 1992, astronomers have used the fluctuations to understand both the origin of the Universe and the formation of galaxies.
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Mars Express is the European Space Agency’s first mission to Mars. Its role is to survey the planet from the topmost layer of the atmosphere down to beneath the surface. Since its arrival at Mars, the mission has proved a great success and has given us many new insights into the Martian environment.
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For teachers and students age 11-18 , Everything you need to know about how lasers work and their applications in a simple, easy to read booklet.
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Lasers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They can be smaller than a microchip and emit tiny amounts of low-energy infrared light, or huge room-filling multi-laser systems that blast out high-energy radiation. Their uses are even more diverse.
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A full-colour A5 leaflet that opens out into an A2 double-sided wall poster describing the activity of the nuclear physics community in the UK and how their inspirational work impacts our lives. Ages and up. New April 20 version.
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The Herschel Space Observatory was launched in May 2009, and is now 1.5 million km away from Earth. It’s main mirror is 3.5 metres in diameter, the largest ever launched. Herschel is led by the European Space Agency, but is an international consortium involving dozens of institutions from Europe and North America.
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Here are a few facts about the Sun and its planets. What else can you find out about them?
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Hands on Universe has been designed for use with pupils studying science at key stage 1.
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Hands on Universe has been designed for use with pupils studying science at key stage 2.
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The LHC is the biggest scientific experiment in the world. It accelerates two beams of protons in opposite directions around a 27km underground tunnel, until they approach the speed of light. The particles are then collided together, generating ultra high energies that recreate in the laboratory the conditions experienced less than one billionth of a second after the Big Bang.
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Poster of ATLAS Detector, Large Hadron Collider, CERN.
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The Solar System is full of lumps of rock and ice. Some are as small as grains of sand, others are the size of mountains. Sometimes they come to visit us here on Earth.
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The Moon is the Earth’s largest natural satellite and is the brightest object in the night sky after the Sun. It is the only place in the Solar System, other than Earth, that humans have visited.
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What’s the difference between an asteroid, a comet and a meteoroid? When is a meteoroid a meteor or a meteorite? Where do they come from and what can they teach us? You’ll find all this out (and lots more) in this book.
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If you can’t go to the Moon, let the Moon come to you! For everyone, from primary schools to postgraduates and the public too - the STFC Moon rock loan scheme is completely FREE!
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A brochure of information about how we’re addressing the gender balance in STEM careers.
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An informative look at how and why researchers should engage the public and how to get support from STFC.
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The Earth's upper atmosphere is constantly hit by particles called cosmic rays, producing many secondary particles that collide with nuclei in the atmosphere. LHCf is designed to detect these secondary particles from ultra-high-energy cosmic rays to help confirm the theoretical models that explain what happens when these cosmic rays enter the atmosphere.
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A look at LHCb, one of the four big experiments for the LHC (Large Hadron Collider), the most powerful particle accelerator in the world, which began in 2008. Published by CERN (2009).
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The Grid is a service for sharing computer power and data storage capacity over the internet. It goes beyond simple communication between computers, and aims ultimately to turn the global network of computers into one vast computational resource.
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A collection of facts and figures about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the form of questions and answers. Published by CERN (2009).
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A presentation of the largest and the most powerful particle accelerator in the world, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which began in 2008. Its role, characteristics, technologies, etc. are explained. Published by CERN (2010).
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A look at CERN's CMS experiment. Published by CERN (2009).
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A look at CERN's ALICE experiment, which will study the quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter that probably existed in the first moments of the universe. Published by CERN (2010).
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The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has produced this booklet outlining the contributions that astronomy and space science make to the wider society. Published by RAS (2010).
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A look at CERN's ATLAS, a multi-purpose detector designed to throw light on fundamental questions such as the origin of mass and the nature of the Universe's dark matter. Published by CERN (2007).
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An accessible insight into CERN, its work and its impact. Published by CERN (2010).
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So what happened to all the antimatter? This is one of the great puzzles of particle physics and one that physicists at CERN are working to try and solve.
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A brief overview of the range of activities CERN is involved in to minimise the environmental impact of the lab's research.
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