SciTech

Science in Brief

Katarzyna reports on the most recent ground-breaking news in science

Scientists make the first ever time crystals that break time

Time crystals were hypothesized in 2012 by Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek. At first, many other physicists dismissed the possibility of the existence of such objects.  However, at the beginning of

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The struggles and contributions of Marie Curie

Katarzyna Siewierska writes about Marie Curie as a tribute to all female scientists, who made contributions to science, but also showed strength of character and determination in overcoming the challenges of being a female scientist, inspiring generations of female scientists

The glass ceiling

“In the late 19th century, the Sorbonne enrolled a new female student from Warsaw, Poland. She came to France to study physics and mathematics upon her sister’s invitation after a bad break up with her first love.  

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Santa’s secret – it’s not magic… it’s science!

SciTech Editor Katarzyna Siewierska takes us through what it would take for one Santa and nine reindeers to deliver presents to children around the world. Warning: If you believe in Santa, do not read

 

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Santa’s challenge

Lets establish the problem we are going to analyse in the article. Santa Claus is an elderly, rather large man who spends one night in the year to deliver presents to children all around the world. He travels

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Science in brief

SciTech Editor Katarzyna Siewierska gives an account of the biggest stories to emerge from Trinity’s science departments this term

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TCD physicists create a sensor from graphene and silly putty

On December 9, the prestigious journal Science published a paper on “Sensitive electromechanical sensors using viscoelastic graphene-polymer nanocomposites” which reports on a very exciting discovery of what is now

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Teaching methods in science from the dark ages

Katarzyna discusses the most common ways learning can be discouraged and the merits of interactive engagement over traditional teaching methods

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“Students learn at different rates and in varying ways and hence accepting an answer too quickly results in terminating their thought process.”

Most lecturers we come across aspire to be good teachers and want their students to learn, and TCD

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Mysteries of physics: vacuum zero-point energy

Katarzyna Siewierska describes the energy contained by the vacuum in the universe, how it could be related to dark energy and what this energy has to do with the recent discovery of magnetism from empty space by Trinity physicists

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Physics of an Empty Box

Imagine we took a box, removed all matter from it, cooled it to the lowest temperature possible to remove all heat and sealed it perfectly. It appears that we imagined a boring empty box with

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Valentine’s day animal style: strangest mating behaviours in nature

In the spirit of Valentine’s day, Katarzyna Siewierska describes some bizarre mating rituals and unexpected physical characteristics.

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The bees … and exploding genitalia!

The mating ritual in bees is so bizarre you won’t want to believe it, but it is true. It all starts with a queen bee being bred in a special cell in the beehive.

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Gravitational Waves Could Be Detected This Year

Katarzyna discusses what gravitational waves are, the rumours from the LIGO project and the importance of gravitational waves in the study of the objects that generate them.

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Origin of Gravitational Waves

When Einstein was formulating the general theory of relativity, he considered this simple question: ‘If the Sun suddenly disappeared right now, when would we found out about it on Earth?’ To understand why this is an

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City of Physics initiative brings physics into Dublin streets

Katarzyna Siewierska interviews Dr Shane Bergin and discussed the impact of City of Physics, the TCD-UCD initiative that brought physics to the general public in the Dublin City.

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In the new government science strategy 2.5% of the GNP by 2020 will be invested into research. Also the government will consider Ireland becoming a member of CERN and ESO. This plan is a big step forward for Irish science.

News

Trinity receives Athena SWAN Awards

Trinity is one of only two universities in Ireland to achieve the award, the second one being the University of Limerick.

NEWS

On December 10, Trinity College Dublin received the bronze institutional Athena SWAN award for advancing gender equality. Three of its schools, Physics, Chemistry and Natural Sciences, also received bronze awards.

The awards were presented at a special ceremony in the