The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave

Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists at EPFL have succeeded in capturing the first- ever snapshot of this dual behavior.
Quantum mechanics tells us that light can behave simultaneously as a particle or a wave. However, there has never been an experiment able to capture both natures of light at the same time; the closest we have come is seeing either wave or particle, but always at different times. Taking a radically different experimental approach, EPFL scientists …

FAceS project – call for participation

Since 1 March 2014, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the credit line “performance evaluation in science,” the project “The Many Faces of academic achievement and performance : “incentives for research and teaching “. The aim of this research project is to develop a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure performance in research and teaching, and to analyse the intended and unintended consequences resulting from performance measures.
The FAceS research team needs the input from the scientific community in order to generate representative data.

Towards a European pension fund for researchers

The Swiss Contact Office for Research, Innovation and Education [Swiss Core] has recently published an update on one of the ongoing hot topics in European Research. e-EPS is reprinting the article with their permission. The orginal article can be found here… A successful academic career in Europe entails a large degree of international mobility. From a European point of view and in the framework of the European Research Area [ERA], international mobility is often seen as a driver for excellence for research organisations as well as one of the key elements of the concept. However …

Editorial – Physics for Fun

For many who measure time according to a university calendar, summer is a time to unwind. My experience, however, is that it is rare to find physics departments empty over the summer break. Many of us use the vacation period without classes to catch up with research, and I imagine that a colleague of mine speaks for many when he says that summer provides him with the freedom to do the physics he wants to do, and this is all the break needed to prepare for the next academic year!
This reminds me a little of the Wobbling Plate story in “Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman”? When Richard Feynman…

Editorial – Horizon 2020, opportunities for research and commitment to society

In a not so remote past, scientists were a close-knit society, spending much of their time in isolated laboratories or academic institutions, sometimes referred to as ivory towers. Now however, on a par with globalization and the emergence of the information-based society, there is a growing commitment of scientists to share knowledge and opinions with society in general. And indeed it is a duty to explain how public funds are employed in the development of basic science and technology for the advancement of society…

EPS launches new science of light research prize

A new prize for Research into the Science of Light has been launched by the Quantum Electronics & Optics Division [QEOD] of the European Physical Society [EPS]. The award – which is to be given biennially – will recognise recent excellent research, by up to three individuals, in the field of electromagnetic science.

The award will be presented to its winner(s) during a prize ceremony at the EPS Nanometa Conference, which is to be held, in Seefeld, on 3-6 January 2013. The prize will consist of an engraved glass medal, a certificate…

European Commission measures improve access to research

New measures to improve access to European scientific knowledge were outlined by the European Commission last month. It is hoped that this greater access will make it easier for businesses and researchers to build on the results of publically funded research, boosting Europe’s innovation potential.

The communication, entitled “Communication Towards better access to scientific information: Boosting the benefits of public investments in research”, establishes open access objectives for research…

IoP report benchmarks physics research in the UK

The Institute of Physics has published a report on the “Bibliometric evaluation and international benchmarking of the UK’s physics research”.

The publication reports a decline in the United Kingdom’s share of physics paper publications over the last decade – a trend seen across most G7 countries, following an increase in the output of Chinese research. Despite this, the UK’s contribution was regarded as still having a significant impact…

ALPHA takes measurement of antihydrogen atoms

The ALPHA collaboration at CERN has undertaken the first measurements of the antihydrogen spectrum, reported the journal Nature last week. This initial development may pave the way towards a better understanding of why our universe is matter-based.

“We’ve demonstrated that we can probe the internal structure of the antihydrogen atom,” said ALPHA collaboration spokesman, Jeffrey Hangst. “…we’re very excited about that. We now know that it’s possible to design…