A week of physics stories – starting Monday

Australian Institute of Physics Congress
aip2016-web-banner-thin

The biennial Physics Congress in Brisbane
4 to 8 December

Researchers from every State plus international and Asian leaders
All stories embargoed until released during the Congress.

 

The biggest discovery of 2016 – gravitational waves. Hear from one of the leaders on what’s next.

Einstein said we’d never find them. But we did. Have more been found? What’s Australia’s role, and why should we care? Researchers from Canberra, Melbourne, and Perth will talk about their work on gravitational waves.

Our neutrino world – explained by 2015 Nobel Prize winner Takaaki Kajita

We live in a world of neutrinos. Thousands of billions of neutrinos—mostly created by the Sun—are flowing through your body every second. You cannot see them and you do not feel them. So how did we discover they have mass, and why does that challenge our standard model of the Universe? Kajita will also be meeting with school students.

$20 billion, with a result is expected in 2035. The world’s largest science experiment hopes to crack fusion power.

Speakers from around the world, including senior advisor to the ITER project Jean Jacquinot, will speak about the global race to harness the process that powers our Sun. Researchers from ANU will be available to speak about Australia’s involvement.

Other stories include:

  • Australia’s new constellation of satellites – packed up and ready for launch in 2017
  • The rubies and diamonds that will make your cancers glow
  • Quantum computing – how Australia is leading the race
  • Plasma-enhanced beer and milk: the Deakin researchers zapping liquids with plasma
  • The science of plasma welding, and using plasma in surgery
  • No more exploding smartphones: the Australia-China supercapacitor collaboration that could do away with lithium batteries.
  • Squinting at alien Earths with the aid of ANU’s clever new photonic chip.
  • Plus dozens more physics stories.

We’ll be in Brisbane from Sunday to Thursday and will be providing updates throughout the week via this bulletin and at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/physicscongress

To arrange an interview contact Toni on 0401 763 130 toni@scienceinpublic.com.au or Niall (03) 9398 1416 niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

We’ll also be tweeting from @AsiaAusPhysics and @ausphysics on #BrisPhys16

The APCC-AIP Congress is the Joint 13th Asia Pacific Physics Conference and 22nd Australian Institute of Physics Congress incorporating the Australian Optical Society Conference. It’s on at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 4 to 8 December 2016.