STFC

Scientists working on the world's most sensitive gravitational wave detectors have achieved a remarkable breakthrough, developing a technique that works like 'Auto-Tune for the universe'. 🎛️🎶 By using the gravitational wave signals themselves to calibrate their instruments, researchers in the international LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA collaboration can now produce reliable results even when a detector is not performing at its best, turning a potential weakness into a powerful new tool. This advance matters for all of us. A more precise understanding of gravitational waves brings scientists closer to answering fundamental questions about the Universe, including the long-debated mystery of how fast it is expanding. STFC is proud to support the @uofglasgow 's gravitational research, whose scientists played a key role in this work, alongside gravitational research groups at universities across the UK, including @unibirmingham , @cardiffuni , @cambridgeuniversity , and many more. Together, these teams are helping to usher in a new era of precision gravitational wave astronomy, with discoveries like this cementing the UK's reputation as a world leader in cutting-edge science, driving innovation that benefits society for generations to come. @ligo_lab | @ligo_virgo Image credit: Carl Knox, OzGrav / Swinburne University of Technology

RAL Space and Dr Dan Cooper (TestTube Revise) created an online physics escape room, designed for GCSE, National 5 and Junior Cycle Physics curricula. 🔬 In this interactive virtual escape room, students must recover a password needed to launch a new spacecraft. To do this, students will apply core physics knowledge, solve equations and scientific challenges, and explore RAL Space laboratories and facilities for clues Alongside revision, students also learn about real @ral.space projects and meet members of the teams behind them, helping to showcase STEM careers and pathways in space science and engineering. 🔗 Link in bio to learn more! #Physics #STEM #STEMResources

A new generation of brain-inspired computing technologies could lead to smarter AI and more efficient technologies for an increasingly data-driven world. 🧠 @astonuniversity and STFC’S @hartreecentre are joining forces to accelerate the development and industrial adoption of neuromorphic computing across the UK. ℹ️ Inspired by how the human brain processes information, neuromorphic computing moves beyond traditional digital approaches, enabling more flexible, power‑efficient and real‑time AI systems. By learning from nature, these technologies could transform how future artificial intelligence is designed, deployed and applied in the real world. Looking ahead, the partners aim to build a sustainable, nationally significant capability that grows in scale and impact, supported by joint publications, major international conferences, training programmes, and knowledge exchange. #AI #Technology #Science

The Ariel payload has passed a major test milestone, marking key progress towards ESA’s mission to study more than 1,000 exoplanets! 🌌 Since the first exoplanet discoveries in the 1990s, thousands of diverse worlds have been found, shifting the field from discovery to detailed understanding. ℹ️ Developed by an international consortium, Ariel’s payload brings together the telescope assembly, scientific instruments and supporting hardware needed to explore exoplanet atmospheres at unprecedented scale. @europeanspaceagency ’s Ariel mission will observe around 1,000 planets, from rocky worlds to gas giants, to reveal how their atmospheres form and evolve. With preliminary structural testing now complete, the team moves forward to the next stages on the path to launch. #Space #Astronomy

A mile underground. 10 million pounds of steel. And the start of something extraordinary. ✍️   Today, scientists and leaders from around the world signed steel beams that will form the heart of the @dunescience experiment: the most ambitious neutrino research project ever built. These beams will sit nearly a mile below South Dakota, inside detectors the size of five-storey buildings, cooled to -300°F and filled with 17,000 tonnes of liquid argon.   DUNE will study one of the universe’s great mysteries: the neutrino. Answering the questions DUNE is asking could help explain why our universe exists; opening doors to breakthroughs in medical imaging, communications and more.   STFC is proud to be part of this incredible collaboration with @fermilab , @cern , @sanfordlab and 1,500 scientists worldwide.   The first neutrino beam is targeted for 2031, so watch this space! 👀   #ParticlePhysics #BigScience

This week, sixth form students got hands-on with quantum computing at the National Quantum Computing Centre. 👩🏻‍💻👨🏾‍💻 They built quantum circuits, submitted jobs to real quantum hardware, toured the facility, and heard from quantum professionals about careers in the field. Thank you to all the students and teachers who joined us. Watch this space for future opportunities!

UK scientists have just achieved a major breakthrough in laser physics that could change how we understand the universe itself. 🤯 Researchers from STFC's Central Laser Facility, @oxford_uni and @qubelfast have demonstrated a new way to dramatically boost the intensity of laser light – potentially creating the most intense light ever produced in a laboratory. By firing a powerful laser at a cloud of charged particles, the team created a kind of ultra-fast moving mirror. Because the 'mirror' is moving so fast, Einstein's theory of relativity comes into play, compressing the reflected light and amplifying it to extraordinary levels. They then focused this light even further, concentrating huge amounts of energy into a tiny point. Published in @nature_the_journal , this research opens the door to experiments that probe the very fabric of reality, where we can explore how light and matter interact at the most fundamental level. In practical terms, advances like this can lead to breakthroughs in medical imaging, cancer treatment, and materials science. By pushing the boundaries of what lasers can do, UK scientists are helping to build the foundations for technologies that could benefit patients and industries for generations to come. #lasers #science

🥳 Exciting news! The global Muon g-2 experiment has been awarded the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for precision measurements of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. ℹ️ The Breakthrough Prize is one of the world’s most prestigious scientific awards, celebrating transformative discoveries across Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. 🏆 This year, it recognises the global effort to measure ‘g-2’, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and the recent publication of the most precise measurement of its magnetic properties to date. Together, these results push tests of the Standard Model to unprecedented precision and may point towards new physics. Supported by STFC, researchers from @lancasteruni , @livuni , @officialuom and @ucl , alongside accelerator scientists at the @cockcroft_institute , have played a significant role in this international success through leadership, detector development and analysis. From the earliest measurements at @cern in the 1960s and 70s, to advances at @brookhavenlab in the 1990s, and the publication of a landmark final result from @fermilab in 2025, this has been a remarkable global scientific journey. This award celebrates not only scientific achievement, but also the power of international collaboration in pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the Universe. #BreakthroughPrize #physics

Happy #EarthDay! Here are 5 ways our science is helping our Planet 🌍 From tracking Earth’s breath to turning air into clean fuel, STFC scientists are driving real solutions to protect our planet. Science doesn’t just studying our planet — it can help protect it! 🔗 Brand new @medium story linked in bio. @ral.space | @isisneutronmuon | @hartreecentre #Science #Technology #Environment #EarthDay

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has successfully completed the largest high‑resolution 3D map of the universe ever created, marking a major milestone in understanding the force driving cosmic expansion 🌌 This achievement was reached as DESI’s 5,000 fibre‑optic sensors captured their final scheduled observations, targeting a region of sky near the Little Dipper. ℹ️ With the full dataset now complete, scientists have a far more powerful resource to test whether emerging hints of evolving dark energy persist, findings that could transform our understanding of the universe. STFC supports the UK contribution to DESI, the collaboration will now begin processing the full dataset, with the first dark energy results from DESI’s complete survey expected in 2027. #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Technology

UK start-ups to power a new wave of quantum innovation 👩‍💻   Curenetics, Coherence Engine, AmorphiQ and Qascade have joined the DeepTech Catalyst Quantum incubator (DTC Quantum), where they’ll develop and commercialise quantum‑enabled products with real‑world impact.   Led by STFC, in collaboration with the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), DTC Quantum supports start-ups at the forefront of quantum technology, helping turn cutting-edge research into practical applications.   From accelerating cancer research to tackling challenges beyond the reach of traditional AI, these UK start-ups are harnessing quantum technologies to bring breakthrough innovations to market.   #Quantum #Technology #Innovation

Happy World Quantum Day! 🌍 Qubits that can be both 1 and 0 at the same time, superposition, quantum entanglement… it can all sound pretty mind‑bending. So, we’ve broken down the basics of quantum computing for you in this short animation! 🔗 Curious to understand how it all works? Check our @medium article linked in bio! #WorldQuantumDay #Quantum #Technology