Oxford Physics Public Lectures

The Department of Physics public lecture series. An exciting series of lectures about the research at Oxford Physics take place throughout the academic year. Looking at topics diverse as the creation of the universe to the science of climate change.

Features episodes previously published as:
(1) 'Oxford Physics Alumni': "Informal interviews with physics alumni at events, lectures and other alumni related activities."
(2) 'Physics and Philosophy: Arguments, Experiments and a Few Things in Between': "A series which explores some of the links between physics and philosophy, two of the most fundamental ways with which we try to answer our questions about the world around us. A number of the most pertinent topics which bridge the disciplines are discussed - the nature of space and time, the unpredictable results of quantum mechanics and their surprising consequences and perhaps most fundamentally, the nature of the mind and how far science can go towards explaining and understanding it. Featuring interviews with Dr. Christopher Palmer, Prof. Frank Arntzenius, Prof. Vlatko Vedral, Dr. David Wallace and Prof. Roger Penrose."

Oxford Physics Alumni Physics and Philosophy undergraduate course Department of Physics

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Displaying 1 - 100 of 106 episodes

Episode	Description	People	Date
Was there a strategic alternative to the atomic bombing of 1945?	Delve into history with Dr Rob Johnson, Director of The Changing Character of War Centre at Oxford, as he explores a pivotal question.	Rob Johnson	21 December, 2023
Oxford Physics and the ‘remote and speculative project’	A lecture by Prof Stephen Blundell, Professor of Physics – Condensed Matter - (Department of Physics and Mansfield College).	Stephen Blundell	21 December, 2023
Nuclear Physics and the development of the bomb	Explore the history of atomic bomb development with Dr. Georg Viehhauser, Particle Physics Research Lecturer at St John's College, Oxford.	Georg Viehhauser	21 December, 2023
IceCube: Opening a New Window on the Universe from the South Pole	Particle Physics Christmas Lecture, hosted by Prof. Daniela Bortoletto, Head of Particle Physics and senior members of the department with guest speaker, Professor Francis Halzen.	Daniela Bortoletto, Francis Halzen	20 December, 2019
The First Image of a Black Hole	Professor Heino Falcke of Radboud University, Nijmegen delivers the 19th Hintze Lecture - reviewing the latest results of the Event Horizon Telescope, its scientific implications and future expansions of the array	Heino Falcke	19 November, 2019
The Many Universes of Quantum Materials	Professor Stephen Blundell explores the many universes of quantum materials for the 2019 Quantum Materials Public Lecture.	Stephen Blundell	7 October, 2019
Gravitational Waves and Prospects for Multi-messenger Astronomy	Professor Barry C Barish gives a talk on the quest for the detection of gravitational waves.	Barry C. Barrish	30 July, 2019
Finding aliens – An update on the search for life in the Universe	Bill Diamond, President & CEO The SETI Institute gives an an update on the search for life in the Universe. Hosted by Ian Shipsey, Head of Physics.	Bill Diamond, Ian Shipsey	30 July, 2019
Cherwell-Simon Memorial Lecture: The XENON Project: at the forefront of Dark Matter Direct Detection	What is the Dark Matter which makes 85% of the matter in the Universe? We have been asking this question for many decades and used a variety of experimental approaches to address it, with detectors on Earth and in space.	Elena Aprile	8 July, 2019
Is Dark Matter Made of Black Holes	The 2019 Halley lecture	Marc Kamionkowski	4 June, 2019
The Role of Gas in Galaxy Evolution	Professor Jacqueline van Gorkom delivers the 18th Hintze Lecture.	Jacqueline van Gorkom	3 June, 2019
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance - Past, Present and Future	Professor Mark Newton describes some of the key events in the discovery and development of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR).	Mark Newton	18 March, 2019
The Quantum and the Cosmos	The 17th Hintze Lecture, given by Professor Rocky Kolb, Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The University of Chicago.	Rocky Kolb	14 November, 2018
The Search for Life on Earth, In Space and Time	Dr James Green, current Chief Scientist of NASA gives a talk on the how life may be distributed on Earth and in the Solar System with consideration of the age of our sun.	James Green	29 October, 2018
How do we find planets around other stars?	The 3rd Wetton lecture, 19th June 2018 delivered by Professor David W. Hogg, Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University	David W Hogg	2 July, 2018
The Quest for Nearby Habitable Worlds	The 16th Hintze lecture, 25th April 2018 delivered by Professor René Doyon, Director, Mont-Mégantic Observatory & Institute for Research on Exoplanets, University of Montreal, Canada	Rene Doyon	22 May, 2018
ALMA and the Birth of Stars Across Galaxies	The 2018 Astor Visiting Lecture 14th March 2018 delivered by Professor Adam Leroy, Ohio State University.	Adam Leroy	28 March, 2018
The State of the Universe	Our Universe was created in 'The Big Bang' and has been expanding ever since. Professor Schmidt describes the vital statistics of the Universe, and tries to make sense of the Universe's past, present, and future.	Brian Schmidt	20 November, 2017
Superconductors: Miracle Materials	An introduction to the fascinating world of superconductors and the many surprising phenomena they exhibit, from zero resistance to quantum levitation.	Andrew Boothroyd	25 October, 2017
Quantum physics and the nature of computing	How can we test a quantum computer? An exploration of some of the theoretical puzzles of this field and how we can investigate them with experimental physics.	Jelmer Renema	25 October, 2017
Superconductors: why it’s cool to be repulsive	A family-friendly demonstration of superconductors in action. Fran explores the low temperatures we need to make them work, and how we can use superconductors for levitating trains.	Fran Kirschner	25 October, 2017
Cassini-Huygens: Space Odyssey to Saturn and Titan	Public Lecture organised by the Aeronautical Society of Oxford in conjunction with the Department of Physics.	David Southwood	18 October, 2017
Observation of the mergers of binary black holes: The opening of gravitational wave astronomy	The 2017 Halley Lecture 7th June 2017 delivered by Professor Rainer Weiss, MIT on behalf of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration	Rainer Weiss	27 June, 2017
Ghost Imaging with Quantum Light	Physics Colloquium 26th May 2017 delivered by Professor Miles Padgett, University of Glasgow	Miles Padgett	27 June, 2017
Pulsars and Extreme Physics - A 50th Anniversary	Physics Colloquium 5th May 2017 delivered by Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell	Jocelyn Bell Burnell	27 June, 2017
Starquakes Expose Stellar Heartbeats	The 14th Hintze Biannual Lecture 4th May 2017 delivered by Professor Conny Aerts - Director, Institute of Astronomy KU Leuven	Connie Aerts	27 June, 2017
Curiosity’s Search for Ancient Habitable Environments at Gale Crater, Mars	4th Annual Lobanov-Rostovsky Lecture in Planetary Geology delivered by Professor John Grotzinger, Caltech, USA	John Grotzinger	27 April, 2017
Spatio-temporal Optical Vortices	Physics Colloquium 10th March 2017 delivered by Professor Howard Milchberg, University of Maryland, USA	Howard Milchberg	27 April, 2017
Learning new physics from a medieval thinker: Big Bangs and Rainbows	Physics Colloquium 24 February 2017 delivered by Professor Tom McLeish FRS, Department of Physics and Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Durham University, UK	Tom McLeish	27 April, 2017
The applied side of Bell nonlocality	Physics Colloquium 17 February 2016 delivered by Professor Valerio Scarani	Valerio Scarani	27 April, 2017
The Beauty of Flavour - Latest results from the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider	Physics Colloquium 3 February 2017 delivered by Professor Val Gibson, Cambridge	Val Gibson	5 April, 2017
From Materials to Cosmology: Studying the early universe under the microscope	Physics Colloquium 27 January 2017 delivered by Professor Nicola Spaldin, ETH Zurich	Nicola Spaldin	5 April, 2017
The Future of Particle Physics Panel Discussion	Panel discussion with Prof John Womersley (STFC), Prof John Wheater (Department of Physics), Prof Ian Shipsey (Particle Physics), Prof Dave Wark (Particle Physics), Prof Daniella Bortoletto (Physics) and Prof Subir Sarkar (Particle Theory Group)	John Womersley, John Wheater, Ian Shipsey, Dave Wark, Daniella Bortoletto, Subir Sarkar	7 March, 2017
The Future of Particle Physics: The Particle Physics Christmas Lecture	Professor John Womersley (STFC) gives the Particle Physics Christmas Lecture.	John Womersley	7 March, 2017
Astronomy at the Highest Energies: Exploring the Extreme Universe with Gamma Rays	Physics Colloquium 25 November 2016 delivered by Dr Jamie Holder	Jamie Holder	30 November, 2016
Exotic combinations of quarks - A journey of fifty years	Physics Colloquium 11 November 2016 delivered by Professor Jon Rosner	Jon Rosner	17 November, 2016
Our Simple but Strange Universe	The 13th Hintze Biannual Lecture delivered by Professor David Spergel	David Spergel	17 November, 2016
Searching for - and finding! Gravitational Waves	Physics Colloquium 27th October 2016 delivered by Professor Gabriela Gonzalez	Gabriela Gonzalez	1 November, 2016
Visualizing Quantum Matter	Physics Colloquium 28 October 2016 delivered by Professor Séamus Davis	Séamus Davis	1 November, 2016
Atmospheric Circulation and Climate Change	Physics Colloquium 21st October 2016 delivered by Professor Theodore (Ted) Shepherd	Theodore (Ted) Shepherd	1 November, 2016
The explosion mechanism of massive stars	Physics Colloquium 14th October 2016 delivered by Professor Thierry Foglizzo	Thierry Foglizzo	27 October, 2016
Quantum Sensors sans Frontier	Physics Colloquium 10th June 2016 delivered by Professor Swapan Chattopadhyay	Swapan Chattopadhyay	16 June, 2016
The Origins and Evolution of Exoplanet Atmospheres and Oceans	3rd Annual Lobanov-Rostovsky Lecture in Planetary Geology delivered by Professor Raymond T Pierrehumbert.	Raymond T Pierrehumbert	15 June, 2016
Bionic Hearing: the Science and the Experience	Physics Colloquium 20th May 2016 delivered by Ian Shipsey	Ian Shipsey	24 May, 2016
Unveiling the Birth of Stars and Galaxies	The 2016 Hintze Biannual Lecture delivered by Professor Robert Kennicutt	Robert Kennicutt	18 May, 2016
ECHO, ECHo, Echo, echo... When echoes overwhelm Landau damping	Physics Colloquium 6th May 2016 delivered by Professor William Dorland	William Dorland	11 May, 2016
The Unity of the Universe	The Final Dennis Sciama Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor David Deutsch	David Deutsch	9 March, 2016
Engineering Defects in Diamond	Physics Colloquium 26th February 2016 delivered by Professor Mark Newton	Mark Newton	4 March, 2016
Optical Microscopy and Spectroscopy of Single Molecules and Single Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles	Physics Colloquium 19th February 2016 delivered by Professor Michel Orrit	Michel Orrit	4 March, 2016
Stellarators, Fusion Energy and the Wendelstein 7-X Experiment	Physics Colloquium 29th January 2016 delivered by Professor Per Helender	Per Helender	19 February, 2016
Epidemics, Erdös Numbers and the Internet: the Physics of Networks	Physics Colloquium 12th February 2016 delivered by Professor Mark Newman	Mark Newman	19 February, 2016
DalitzFest	The Scientific Legacy of Dick Dalitz	Frank Close, Christopher Llewellyn-Smith	18 February, 2016
Quantum Computer Simulation of Chemistry and Materials: Advances and Perspectives	Physics Colloquium 5th February 2016 delivered by Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik	Alán Aspuru-Guzik	11 February, 2016
Seeing the High Energy Universe with IceCube	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 3rd morning of Theoretical Physics covering the subject of Inner Space Meets Outer Space: Covering the Connections Between Cosmology and Particle Physics	Subir Sarkar	6 January, 2016
Growing Black Holes over 12 Billion Years	The 2015 Hintze Biannual Lecture delivered by Professor Meg Urry	Meg Urry	4 December, 2015
The Einstein Lens and a Tale of Two Eclipses	Physics Colloquium 20th November 2015 delivered by Professor Tom Ray	Tom Ray	24 November, 2015
At a Physics Info/Sci Intersection	Physics Colloquium 30th October 2015 delivered by Professer Paul Ginsparg	Paul Ginsparg	3 November, 2015
How hot will it get in a world run by economists? A physicist’s take on climate change policy	Physics Colloquium 23rd October 2015 delivered by Professor Myles Allen	Myles Allen	26 October, 2015
Understanding the Monsoon	The 2015 Halley Lecture delivered by Professor Peter J. Webster	Peter J. Webster	30 July, 2015
Parlez-vous Beams? The Frontier of Beam Physics and Accelerator Science: from High Energy Particle Colliders to Quantum Degenerate Beams	Physics Colloquium 12th June 2015 delivered by Professer Swapan Chattopadhyay	Swapan Chattopadhyay	17 June, 2015
The Quantum Universe	The 2015 Hintze Lecture delivered by Professor Hitoshi Murayama	Hitoshi Murayama	16 June, 2015
Chasing Fast Dynamos in the Plasma Lab	Physics Colloquium 29th May 2015 delivered by Professor Cary Forest	Cary Forest	8 June, 2015
Climate Observations from Space	Physics Colloquium 5th June 2015 delivered by Professor Stephen Briggs	Stephen Briggs	8 June, 2015
Cosmology from the Microwave Background	Physics Colloquium 22nd May 2015 delivered by Professor Jo Dunkley	Jo Dunkley	29 May, 2015
Everything from nothing, or how our universe was made	The 2015 Wetton Lecture delivered by Professor Carlos Frenk	Carlos Frenk	29 May, 2015
Topological Boundary Modes from Quantum Electronics to Classical Mechanics	The 2015 Cherwell-Simon Lecture delivered by Professor Charles Kane	Charles Kane	20 May, 2015
The Higgs Boson and Particle Physics at the LHC: a Progress Report and Plans for the Future	Physics Colloquium 13th February 2015 Deliverd by Daniela Bortoletto	Daniela Bortoletto	16 March, 2015
Science with a crowd: The Zooniverse from Galaxy Zoo to LSST	Physics Colloquium 30th January 2015 delivered by Chris Lintott	Chris Lintott	16 March, 2015
Colours from Earth: preparing for exo-earth characterisation	Physics Colloquium 6th March 2015 deliverd by Robert Fosbury	Robert Fosbury	16 March, 2015
LHC searches for dark matter	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 6th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the ways in which ideas from theoretical particle physics guide the high energy accelerator program at CERN	Ulrich Haisch	12 February, 2015
Precision Studies of the Higgs	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 6th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the ways in which ideas from theoretical particle physics guide the high energy accelerator program at CERN	Giulia Zanderighi	12 February, 2015
The Standard Model and the LHC! in the Higgs Boson Era	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 6th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the ways in which ideas from theoretical particle physics guide the high energy accelerator programme at CERN.	Juan Rojo	12 February, 2015
Matter Emerges from the Vacuum	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the first Saturday Morning of Theoretical Physics on 22 June 2013. The event focussed on how we use field theory to understand material reality.	Joseph Conlon	4 February, 2015
Plasma Tamed, Fusion Power and the Theoretical Challenge	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 4th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the subject of Plasmas: the normal form of matter and the key to unlimited energy.	Steve Cowley	29 January, 2015
String Theory on the Sky	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 3rd morning of Theoretical Physics. The event focused on the interface between theoretical developments in particle physics and astrophysics/cosmology.	David Marsh	29 January, 2015
Black Holes, Axions and the Gravitational Atom in the Sky	Physics Colloquium 5th December 2014 delivered by Dr Asimina Arvanitak	Asimina Arvanitak	17 December, 2014
The Vacuum Comes Alive	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 1st morning of Theoretical Physics covering how we use field theory to understand material reality	James Binney	15 December, 2014
Living Matter: a theoretical physics perspective	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 2nd morning of Theoretical Physics covering ideas from theoretical physics currently being applied to living systems	Ramin Golestanian	15 December, 2014
Motility in Living Matter	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 2nd morning of Theoretical Physics covering ideas from theoretical physics currently being applied to living systems	Julia Yeomans	15 December, 2014
Inner Space Meets Outer Space	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 4th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the connections between cosmology and particle physics.	Subir Sarkar	15 December, 2014
Darkness Visible: The Hunt For Dark Matter	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 4th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the connections between cosmology and particle physics.	Felix Kahlhoefer	15 December, 2014
Plasma: What It Is, How To Make It and How To Hold It	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 4th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the subject of Plasmas: the normal form of matter and the key to unlimited energy	Felix Parra-Diaz	15 December, 2014
Turbulence: Plasma Unleashed	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 4th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the subject of Plasmas: the normal form of matter and the key to unlimited energy	Alexander Schekochihin	15 December, 2014
Ice Cores, Climate and Sea Ice	Physics Colloquium 14th November 2014 delivered by Prof Eric Wolff	Eric Wolff	2 December, 2014
Inside the Centre: The Life and Work of J. Robert Oppenheimer	Physics Colloquium 21st November 2014 delivered by Prof Ray Monk	Ray Monk	2 December, 2014
Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars, and Black Holes: The Wickedly Cool Stellar Undead	The 9th Hintze Lecture delivered by Professor Scott Ransom	Scott Ransom	2 December, 2014
A Physicist’s View of the Emergence of Terrestrial Vertebrates	Physics Colloquium 7th November 2014. Delivered by Professor Steve Balbus, Savilian Professor of Astronomy, Head of Astrophysics, University of Oxford.	Steve Balbus	1 December, 2014
Science and the Art of Inventiveness	Physics Colloquium 24th October 2014. Delivered by Professor Andrei Seryi, Director of the John Adams Institute.	Andrei Seryi	1 December, 2014
Black holes in the nearby Universe	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 5th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the subject of Black holes: where physics reaches its limit.	John Magorrian	5 November, 2014
The impact of black holes on the Universe	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 5th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the subject of Black holes: where physics reaches its limit.	James Binney	5 November, 2014
Black holes in Einstein's gravity and beyond	Members of the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics hosted the 5th morning of Theoretical Physics covering the subject of Black holes: where physics reaches its limit.	Andrei Starinets	5 November, 2014
How the Universe Evolved From Smooth to Lumpy -- the Physics of Galaxy Formation	The 2014 Halley Lecture delivered by Professor Eliot Quataert	Eliot Quataert	13 June, 2014
Churchill, Oxford physicists and the Bomb	Physics Colloquium 30th May delivered by Graham Farmelo	Graham Farmelo	11 June, 2014
PT-symmetric Quantum Mechanics	Physics Colloquium 23rd May Delivered by Professor Carl M. Bender	Carl Bender	2 June, 2014
Galaxies and the Intergalactic Medium	10th Dennis Sciama Memorial Lecture by Prof. James Binney.	James Binney	22 May, 2014
Turning in the Widening Gyre: Accretion Processes in the Universe	Inaugural Lecture by Professor Steven Balbus looking at the history of the universe	Steven Balbus	7 April, 2014
Lorenz Gödel and Penrose: new perspectives on determinism and unpredictability, from fundamental physics to the science of climate change	The 9th Dennis Sciama Memorial Lecture, looking at chaos theory and climate change	Tim Palmer	7 April, 2014
Building stars, planets and the ingredients for life between the stars	Halley Lecture 2013 by Professor Dr Ewine van Dishoeck on new developments in astronomy	Ewine van Dishoeck	7 April, 2014
The Fast Track to Finding an Inhabited Exoplanet	The 8th Hintze Lecture by Professor David Charbonneau looking at investigating habitable exoplanets.	David Charbonneau	7 April, 2014
Radiation and Reason	Professor Wade Allison gives a talk about his book 'Radiation and Reason; The Impact of Science on a Culture of Fear'.	Wade Allison	14 November, 2012

Oxford Physics Public Lectures

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