Every Friday in July since 1968 the July Lectures in Physics have been informing and entertaining the public - each year, eminent University of Melbourne and visiting physicists present historical and up-to-the-minute perspectives on a current topic in physics. See upcoming July Lectures here, and view our archives below.
2022
Prof. Nicole Bell: Quantum foundations of the Universe – The creation of matter
The evolution of the very early universe is described by quantum mechanics and particle physics. The first moments after the big bang saw the creation of an asymmetry between matter and antimatter, the production of dark matter, and the formation of light elements in ‘primordial nucleosynthesis’. This lecture looks at the way quantum processes created the matter in our universe.
Prof. Lloyd Hollenberg: Quantum computers: approaching fast
Quantum computers are beginning to emerge from decades of development in physics research labs around the world – prototypes are here, and you can access them via the cloud. But what are they, and what are they good for? To answer these questions we will take a brief tour through the world of quantum computers – covering their origins, current status and outlook. The talk will be augmented by quantum programming examples, both in a simulation environment and on physical quantum computer systems.
Prof. Katya Pas: Quantum chemistry: quantum effects in our everyday lives
Quantum chemistry had humble beginnings - in 1927 quantum mechanics was applied to chemistry for the first time, to describe the chemical bonds of the hydrogen molecule. Since then, advancements in quantum chemistry has gone hand in hand with advancements in computing. By the 1990s quantum chemistry methods could solve problems from thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions to excited states of biological systems. The arrival of petascale computing has resulted in an explosion of studies to understand the properties of organic, emiconductor and metallic materials used in our everyday life. We now have quantum chemical software that solves the Schrödinger equation for chemical systems consisting of nearly half a million atoms… a mighty achievement almost unthinkable a few decades ago.
Prof. David Jamieson: Thermonuclear quantum mechanics: the elusive promise of fusion
It is hard now to imagine that before the 1930s, the source of the Sun’s power was not known for sure. After the reveal of mechanism of thermonuclear fusion, prospects for controlled fusion as a source of power on Earth were proposed, but the main nuclear reaction in the Sun uses the weak nuclear reaction and this is too feeble for an engineered reactor. This lecture looks at the prospects for a breakthrough and the role of quantum mechanics that may provide new insights to address the difficult challenges. Lecture dedicated to the memory of Prof Tony Klein.
2021
Dr Suzie Sheehy: Working across boundaries: Insights from the pioneers of nuclear and quantum physics
Associate Professor Duane Hamacher: Indigenous Astronomy, Science and Truth-Telling
Dr Elizabeth Hinde: The Physical Architecture of Biology
Professor Geoffrey Taylor: How International Collaboration enables Fundamental Physics Breakthrough
Professor David Jamieson: Ahead of their time – Revolutionary discoveries in Physics made too soon
2020
Professor David Jamieson: Physics of life: what do the laws of physics say?
Professor Harry Quiney: Molecule of life: imaging life's machinery
Dr Suzie Sheehy: Ion beams for cancer therapy: new technologies for treating inoperable tumours
Professor James McCaw: Physics of epidemics: helping to keep us safe
Dr Katie Auchettl: The elements of life: from supernovae to planets
2019
Professor Emeritus Anthony Klein: The physics of the Apollo Moon mission in 1969: Do astronauts obey Kepler’s laws?
26 July 2019
Dr Helen Brand: Shining a light on Solar system geology
19 July 2019
Associate Professor Roger Rassool: Oxygen in Physics: From the Moon to the FREO2 project
12 July 2019
Professor David Jamieson: Physics and the Moon - The double planet: the physics of the earth-moon system
5 July 2019
2018
David Simpson: Quantum Mechanics and Biology: What are the Prospects?
Associate Professor Nicole Bell: The Rise of Cosmology and Particle Physics
Dr Matthew Dolan: The Legacy of Stephen Hawking and the Prospects for the Great Reconciliation
13 July 2018
Professor David Jamieson: The Arrow of Time
6 July 2018
2017
Associate Professor Martin Sevior: Antimatter in space: the Alpha spectrometer on the international space station and the cosmological implications
28 July 2017
Dr Michele Trenti: The promise of nanosatellites: getting the University of Melbourne’s fast response telescope into space
21 July 2017
Dr Katie Mack: Humans in space: what are the human impacts of space travel and living on other planets?
14 July 2017
Professor David Jamieson: Methods for reaching extremely high speeds: what are the prospects for fast trips to the stars?
7 July 2017
2016
Professor Stuart Wyithe: Einstein’s Gravity - Black Holes, Dark Matter and Gravitational Lensing
29 July 2016
Professor Elisabetta Barberio: Dark Matter and Gravity - Searching for missing mass at Stawell gold mine
22 July 2016
Professor Matthew Bailes: Pulsars - Nature's naturally occurring gravitational laboratories
15 July 2016
Professor Andrew Melatos
8 July 2016
Professor David Jamieson
1 July 2016
2015
Professor Ann Roberts: Light and matter - Bending light waves for new technology
31 July 2015
Professor Stuart Wyithe: Distant light - Reading the signals from the oldest light in the Universe
24 July 2015
Dr Meg Urey: Prospecting with light - The search for supermassive black holes in galaxies
17 July 2015
Professor Ken Crozier: Nanoscale light - The surprising world of optical nanostructures
10 July 2015
Professor David Jamieson: Understanding Light - from the Arab scholars of the 11th C to Maxwell and Einstein
3 July 2015
Older lectures
2014
- Associate Professor Harry Quiney: The world in a grain of sand: a century of crystallography
- Professor Andrew Peele: The Australian Synchroton and you: how an MCG sized microscope is adding value to our lives
- Professor David Jamieson: Physics, Entropy, Energy and Climate Change
- Professor Hans Bachor: Physics research shapes our future more than you might think
2013
- Professor Hollenberg: The quantum atom as a new technology resource from quantum computers to ultrasensitive probes of the machinery of life
- Professor David Jamieson: The discovery of the quantum atom and its applications to hold, process and transmit information
- Professor Rachel Webster: The cosmological history of hydrogen
- Associate Professor Harry Quiney: From Moseley's Law to the molecular microscope - A century of x-ray physics, chemistry and biology
2012
- Professor Jeremy Molilo: Understanding the cosmos
- Associate Professor Elisabetta Barberio: Big Science at the Frontier - Facilities for answering big questions
2011
- Professor Ray Volkas: The superconducting universe breaking symmetry
- Associate Professor Andrew Melatos: Superconductivity in space neutrons, stars and gravity waves
- Professor David Jamieson: Absolutely No Resistance
2010
- Dr Jeff McCallum: The Solid State Laser Scanning Continents and computer chips
- Professor David Jamieson: The invention of laser from Einstein to hologram
- Professor Keith Nugent: New light on bio molecules the free electron laser
- Professor Stuart Wyithe: Laser in astronomy from guidestars to ripples in spacetime
2009
- Professor Reinhard Genzel, Max-Planck Institute for Extraterre: The supermassive blackhole at the centre of the galaxy
- Dr Michael Brown, Monash University: The Giant Magellan Telescope 400 + 10 years after Galileo
- Professor David Jamieson: Part 1 - Galileo's Invention of the astronomical telescope and his remarkable discoveries - moons, stars and new planet
- Professor David Jamieson: Part 2 Galileo's Invention of the astronomical telescope and his remarkable discoveries - moons, stars and new planet
2007
- Professor Lloyd Hollenberg: A Quantum Leap for Computers-quantum information on the horizon
- Professor David Jamieson: Breakthroughs, hoaxes, frauds and delusions - recent breakthroughs that weren't
- Professor Geoff Taylor: The Large Hadron Collider - our window on the big bang
- Dr Andrew Melatos: Hidden Mass in Cosmic Collisions - the first pictures of dark matter
2004
- Professor David Jamieson: The 19th century world wide web
- Professor Ray Volkas: The ultra-violet catastrophe: the red hot emergence of quantum mechanics
2001
2000
- Professor Geoff Opat: Civilisation Transformed - The Impact of Quantum Mechanics
- Dr David Jamieson: The Promise of the Quantum Computer: New Beads on the Abacus
- Dr Chris Chantler: Quantum Electrodynamics: The most accurate theory in the world
1999
- Professor Geoff Opat: Gravitation - The Great Attraction of Physics
- Associate Professor Rachel Webster: Is the Solar System Doomed to Chaos
- Associate Professor David Jamieson: All Four Engines Out - Volcanic Ash, St Elmo's Fire, Aircraft and Electrostatics
1998
- Professor Geoff Opat: Atoms at Very Very Low temperatures - Wave Behavour and Quantum Super Sates
- Dr David Jamieson: New eyes on Mars - the physics of the pathfinder mission
- Dr Lloyd Hollenberg: The Physics of the Didjeridu
- Associate Professor Ray Volkas
1997
- Professor Geoff Opat: The Electron:The Centenary of its Discovery 1897-1997
- Dr David Jamieson: Einstein and the jumbo jet the global positioning system
- Dr Rachel Webster: The Discovery of Planets around other stars
- Dr John Ellis: Particles and the Cosmos
- Dr Jeff McCallum: The 50th Anniversary of the Invention of the Transistor
1996
- Professor Geoff Opat: How things fly, why boomerangs comeback
- Dr David Jamieson: Physics Gymnasium Einstein's Theory of Relativity
- Dr Anne Roberts: Lasers from atoms to the operating theatre
1995
- Dr David Jamieson: Light without heat luminescence in moonlight video screens and other scenarios
- Dr Rachel Webster: Just how much matter is there in the Universe