• The biggest radio telescope
• The dark side of the universe – could Australia host a gravitational wave detector?
• Too wet for next generation telescopes

Australian researchers are in pole position to solve some of the Universe’s greatest mysteries by participating in three massive global projects.

• A call to action to train a nuclear savvy generation
• Australia will need thousands of people trained in nuclear science
• For submarines, cancer treatments, space industry, mining…

Our new submarine fleet, new cancer therapies, quantum computing, space industry and satellites, the extraction of critical minerals and monitoring the environment will all demand levels of training in nuclear science we cannot at present meet.

Stories from the Australian Institute of Physics Congress 2022 in Adelaide.

We’ve made a new comb: introducing the world’s most accurate ruler – for fast internet, finding planets, detecting explosives and earthquakes and more

Fusion energy

The US fusion news is amazing. But it’s a long way from endless clean power. The researchers probably generated enough excess energy to boil a kettle.

Interviews available with Australian nuclear physicists at the Australian Institute of Physics Congress in Adelaide

Reactions: interviews available with Australian nuclear physicists at the Australian Institute of Physics Congress in Adelaide

The US experimenters apparently have got out more energy than they put in in a fusion experiment, thus technically achieving ignition. This indeed is a breakthrough worthy of celebration.

However, there is a long way to go. From the nature of the facility where the experiment was performed, I’d say this energy came in a single pulse or “flash”. So, for a viable power source it would be necessary to have sustained repeated such pulses, and be able to collect the energy released efficiently. There’s still a long way to go. That said, achieving ignition is an essential milestone that apparently now has been reached. Practical fusion power is a step closer to reality.

Listen to ‘Alice’s caffeine rush’ composed by quantum computer, Quanthoven

Find out what it means for quantum AI and understanding consciousness with Bob Coecke, Chief Scientist at Quantinuum, making quantum software and hardware, and Emeritus Professor at Wolfson College, Oxford.

Stories from the physics national congress in Adelaide.

Monday at the physics national congress in Adelaide

Before the Big Bang, beyond black holes: questions for Christmas lunch

What came before the big bang? Is there an edge to space? What’s beyond the horizon of a black hole? What can the amazing images from the James Webb Space Telescope tell us?

• Nobel lasers
• Before the Big Bang, beyond black holes: questions for Christmas lunch
• ‘Alice’s caffeine rush’: music composed by quantum computer
• Are we winning the quantum race?
• Submarines – how many nuclear physicists will we need?