2010 to 2014 video archive

Assoc Prof Harry Quiney: The world in a grain of sand - a century of crystallography

The development of new pharmaceuticals to combat diseases and new materials to drive the modern economy depends critically on the ability to image the structures of molecules and solids with atomic resolution. The Bragg diffraction law, discovered by Australian Nobel Laureates W. H. and W. L. Bragg a century ago, provides the foundation of the field of crystallography, which remains the most powerful and widely-used method to determine molecular structures. We will explore the world of atomic physics contained within these crystal grains by surveying the historical development of crystallography and discussing how the use of new sources of electrons, neutrons and X-rays promises to revolutionize materials science and structural biology.

Professor Andrew Peele: The Australian Synchroton and you: how an MCG sized microscope is adding value to our lives

The Australian Synchrotron is one of the most significant investments in national landmark research infrastructure ever made in this country. Facilities like the Australian Synchrotron are an essential part of the toolkit for any technologically advanced nation and in Australia we are putting this capability to good use. In only seven years of operation the Australian Synchrotron has accelerated outputs in biotechnology, helped industries of the future and is working to save lives. In this talk what is the Australian Synchrotron, how it works, what it does and why it is good for you will all be discussed in detail. Andrew Peele is the Science Director of the Australian Synchrotron.

Professor David Jamieson: Physics, entropy, energy and climate change

Since the 1905 Chemistry Noble laureate Svante Arrhenius first modelled the greenhouse effect on the temperature of our planet little has changed from his prediction of a 2.1 degree Celsius temperature rise for a doubling of the 1905 CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Today, with greatly improved physical models, the prediction is between 2 and 4.5 degrees under the same scenario. Physics helps us understand the past, present and future scenarios for the climate of our planet. This lecture looks at new sources of power to drive our civilisation and the problem of entropy that narrows our options.

Professor Hans Bachor: Physics research shapes our future more than you might think

Hey, where’s my jetpack? Australian Physics has made many great contributions in the last 50 years. Let’s have a look at some of the highlights, the thrills, the motivation and the success. Physics has a strong positive impact on our lives. While you still have to wait for the personal jetpack, the dream of the 60s, we can marvel at and enjoy much bigger improvements. Hans Bachor and Patrick Helean are from the Australian National University and QUESTACON.

Professor Hollenberg: The quantum atom as a new technology resource from quantum computers to ultrasensitive probes of the machinery of life

With the discovery of the quantum atom by Niels Bohr in 1913, we took the first step to understand the strange quantum mechanical rules that govern the structure of all matter.  Now we can program and readout the quantum state of atoms and molecules.  Remarkably, nanocrystals of diamond, containing a single nitrogen atom, shine very brightly to signal their internal quantum state even when placed inside living cells.  I will show how these light signals allow us to study the internal cellular machinery including the dynamics of biological neural networks which is fundamental to gaining insight into information processing in the brain.

Professor David Jamieson: The discovery of the quantum atom and its applications to hold, process and transmit information

Niels Bohr proposed in 1913 the idea that electrons orbiting inside atoms can only occupy certain specific levels and transitions from one level to the other results in the emission of a light photon.  This was the discovery of the quantum atom and it tells us that nature is fundamentally digital at the atomic level.  In this lecture, I will show how modern nanotechnology is allowing us to program digital information into the quantum atom including our recent breakthrough in programming a single atomic nucleus engineered into a silicon chip.  This could take the work of Alan Turing, the architect of modern computing, into the 21st C.

Professor Rachel Webster: The cosmological history of hydrogen

Most of the universe is made of Hydrogen; indeed in the early universe, there were essentially no elements heavier than Hydrogen and Helium.  During this talk I will trace the history of Hydrogen, from its beginnings at the time of recombination through to the present day.  In particular, I will discuss several recent experiments that explore key phases in the evolution of Hydrogen, and the new telescopes we are constructing to achieve these observations.

Associate Professor Harry Quiney: From Moseley's Law to the molecular microscope - A century of x-ray physics, chemistry and biology

Electrons dropping down into stable orbits around an atomic nucleus follow the strange rules of quantum mechanics which began to be revealed by Niels Bohr’s discovery in 1913.  The radiation emerging from the atom as the electron settles into orbit can tell us a lot about the nucleus.  Shortly after Bohr’s discovery, Henry Moseley discovered that this radiation, typically in the x-ray part of the spectrum, could be used to discover gaps in the periodic table of the elements where new elements would later be found.  In this lecture, I will show how one hundred years later intense beams of X-rays from synchrotrons are making discoveries in the chemical processes of life.

Professor Jeremy Molilo: Understanding the cosmos

Associate Professor Elisabetta Barberio: Big Science at the Frontier - Facilities for answering big questions

Professor Ray Volkas: The superconducting Universe breaking symmetry

Could the entire universe be a superconductor? Some ideas that explain superconductivity have a surprising crossover into fundamental particle physics and our understanding of deep symmetries in the structure of matter at the most fundamental scale. Breaking these symmetries leads to the idea of the Higgs boson and the origin of mass. This lecture looks at the wide frontiers of superconductivity.

Associate Professor Andrew Melatos: Superconductivity in space neutrons, stars and gravity waves

Along with its strange cousin, superfluidity, superconductivity governs the behaviour of matter at the extreme conditions found inside supernova remnant neutron stars. Glitches in the crust of the neutron star and the super-strong magnetic field from the stars promise floods of gravity waves that one day soon we may be able to detect on Earth.

Professor David Jamieson: Absolutely no resistance

Since the discovery in 1911 that frozen mercury would conduct electricity with absolutely no resistance when cooled to very low temperatures, humanity has struggled to explain the phenomenon. It took nearly 50 years to explain the 1911 discovery but this explanation was challenged by new high-temperature superconductors discovered in 1986. This lecture looks at the past and the promise of this remarkable phenomenon.

Dr Jeff McCallum: The solid-state laser scanning continents and computer chips

Coaxing light from semiconductor devices brought on a communications revolution as messages moved from copper to fibre. In the 21st Century, these lasers are destined to invade computer chips themselves. This lecture looks at the science, technology and applications of the solid-state laser.

Professor David Jamieson: The invention of laser from Einstein to hologram

For more than thirty years Einstein’s idea that light could stimulate the emission of light waited for the technical breakthrough leading the invention of the laser. Now on the fiftieth anniversary of the breakthrough this lecture looks at the physics and applications of the ubiquitous laser beam.

Professor Keith Nugent: New light on biomolecules the free electron laser

One of the biggest and most energetic lasers in the world has just commenced operation in California. This laser will work like the ultimate high-speed camera to freeze molecules in the act of the process of life itself. This lecture looks at the unprecedented fleeting timescales that can be seen with this laser.

Professor Stuart Wyithe: Laser in astronomy from guidestars to ripples in spacetime

An artificial guidestar provides the signals that allow the biggest optical telescopes on Earth to lock out the blurring effects of our turbulent atmosphere.  In kilometre-long vacuum pipes interference patterns from giant lasers allow us to listen to the ringing in the fabric of space itself. This lecture will look at how lasers help us observe merging black holes, supernovae and other distant events in the cosmos.