The physics experience
Image: Euler’s equation
So as we approach Burns Night, in celebration of the life and poetry of Scottish poet Robert Burns, we would like to share the poems our students have created to remember facts, equations and rules as part of their Mathematics for Physics 1 course.
Continue reading “An ode to maths”
Photo: Freeman Dyson with student Austin Morris
I’m not sure which is more impressive. Freeman Dyson’s championing of a new era of quantum electrodynamics, or the scale upon which his formidable intellect had an impact.
In his own words, “My most important contribution was the unification of the Feynman-Schwinger-Tomonaga versions of quantum electrodynamics.”, when asked by Vedant Bhargava what he felt was his greatest scientific achievement. Yet his influence spans from fundamental particles like the electron on the scale of roughly 10−18m to a colossal megastructure dubbed a Dyson sphere that would encompass a whole star. Just for reference, the radius of the Sun is on the scale of roughly 108m. That’s something you need a powerful microscope to see right in front of you vs. something you can with your eyes (do not try this at home) 150 million kilometres away. Dyson’s influence is prevalent at every stage. Continue reading “From quantum physics to harvesting energy from stars: reflection on an interview with Freeman Dyson”
Photo: Andres Armua (image credit – Sergio Parrella)
With winter graduation ceremonies upon us, we had a chat with Andres Armua who is due to graduate with an MSc in Theoretical Physics, and this is what he told us about his experience here:
The excellent quality of courses and teaching and the nice atmosphere created by the University staff made the learning process highly satisfying. The teaching staff are very approachable and they are very willing to talk about material. The degree is designed in a very coherent way with good introductory courses and also amazing research level courses. The wide variety of projects offered for the dissertation illustrates the large range of topics in which the School is involved.
