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Physics News

Global warming research: strong storms to become stronger, weak storms to become weaker
A study led by atmospheric physicists at the University of Toronto finds that global warming will not lead to an overall increasingly stormy atmosphere, a topic debated by scientists for decades. Instead, strong storms will become stronger while weak storms become weaker, and the cumulative result of the number of storms will remain unchanged.
Jan. 30, 2015
by UT Physics
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UofT Physicist selected as part of team to lead major marine Arctic ecosystem study
The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), as a part of the Stantec Team, has been selected by an interagency scientific review panel to lead a long-term scientific study of the Arctic marine ecosystem along the Beaufort Sea shelf from Barrow, Alaska to the Mackenzie River delta in Canadian waters. The Marine Arctic Ecosystem Study (MARES) stems from increased attention to climate change, energy development, and sustainability in the Arctic region. Information gained will aid government, industry, and communities in making decisions related to regulations, resource management, economic development and environmental protection issues.
Nov. 26, 2014
by UT Physics
Solving the mystery of increased hydrogen chloride in the Northern Hemisphere
University of Toronto physicist Kaley Walker has helped solve the scientific mystery behind the recent increase in ozone-depleting chemicals in the lower stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere, despite a 25-year old ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Employing data from various sources, including the Canadian Space Agency's SCISAT satellite, an international team of scientists used numerical simulations to determine that the recently observed increase in hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the lower stratosphere is due to reduced atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere.
Nov. 11, 2014
by UT Physics
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‘Spintronics’ discovery could lead to better electronic devices
Scientists have discovered that interactions in certain quantum materials could naturally produce the effects needed for ultra-efficient computers and other electronics.The field of spintronics — a short form of spin transport electronics — seeks to understand and power electronic devices using the quantum property known as electron spin rather than an electron’s charge. Spintronics could lead to efficient circuits and electrical devices that do not waste energy through friction and heat.
Nov. 10, 2014
by UT Physics
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Cracking mud, freezing dirt, and breaking rocks
Ordered crack patterns are so common in nature that they are often overlooked. From tile-like formations in ordinary mud, to the vast polygonal networks that stretch across the polar deserts of Earth and Mars, they are typical features in geomorphology. On smaller scales, crack networks add an artistic flourish to Japanese raku pottery and are found on the paintings of the old masters. Cracking even determines the pattern of scales on the snouts of Nile crocodiles.
Nov. 3, 2014
by UT Physics
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Spontaneous spin Hall effect of ultracold atoms
Moving charges get deflected by a magnetic field, an effect which underlies such applications as isotope separation and the quantum Hall effect which fixes the International standard for electrical resistance.
Oct. 21, 2014
by UT Physics
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Ultracold atoms teach us about life on a neutron star
Fermi gases in the so-called unitary regime—where the diverging interactions between atoms make their thermodynamics universal—are an excellent test bed for an array of strongly interacting matter systems. Two places to find a unitary Fermi gas are in the crust of a neutron start, and in basement of McLennan.
May 22, 2014
by UT Physics
Sajeev John wins Killam Prize for pioneering photonics research
One of Canada’s most prestigious scholarly awards, the Killam Prize recognizes outstanding career achievement by scholars actively engaged in research. It is administered by the Canada Council for the Arts and comes with a $100,000 prize.
April 9, 2014
by UT Physics
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Awards and Honours, Our Faculty
Reporting from the Arctic: the science behind the mission
Dan Weaver on climate change, ozone and the magic of sunlight
March 12, 2014
by UT Physics
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Reporting from the Arctic: a typical day in Eureka
Dan Weaver is a graduate student at the University of Toronto whose research takes him to PEARL, the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory on Ellesmere Island, near Eureka, Nunavut.
March 11, 2014
by UT Physics
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Reporting from the Arctic: the science behind the mission
What kind of work takes a PhD candidate from U of T's physics department to an experimental lab at the northern edge of Canada? Start with climate, ozone depletion, atmospheric dynamics, and air quality.
March 6, 2014
by UT Physics
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Reporting from the Arctic: measuring ozone, tracking satellites, hiking fiords
Dan Weaver is a graduate student at the University of Toronto whose research takes him to PEARL, the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory on Ellesmere Island, near Eureka, Nunavut.
March 3, 2014
by UT Physics
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Suwa Award Honours T2K Team
The J-PARC Neutrino Beam Group, which includes the Canadian T2K collaborators, has been honoured with the 2013 Suwa Award in recognition of their contribution to the development of high-energy accelerator science.
Feb. 26, 2014
by UT Physics
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Ultracold atoms go chiral
This article by Prof. Arun Paramekanti and collaborators was just published in "Nature Communications"
Feb. 4, 2014
by UT Physics
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UofT Physics Member wins 2013 Polanyi Prize
J. Patrick Clancy is one of the two UofT winners of the esteemed Polanyi Prize in 2013.
Nov. 28, 2013
by UT Physics
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New Physics Startup in Quantum Security
The company is called QKD Corp. and is based on the theory research of Dr Weedbrook and the experimental work of Dr Xing.
Nov. 25, 2013
by UT Physics
Climate tracking experiment celebrates 10 years
Scientists, industry and government representatives gathered at the University of Toronto recently for the 10-year anniversary of the successful Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment known as ACE.
Nov. 7, 2013
by UT Physics
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Water impurities key to an icicle’s ripples
A group of physicists from Canada have been growing their own icicles in a lab in the hope of solving a mystery that has, up until now, continued to puzzle scientists.
Oct. 10, 2013
by UT Physics
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Quantum Cryptography Is Safe Again
In theory, so-called quantum cryptography provides a totally secure way of sending information. In practice, maybe not. But now physicists have demonstrated how to close a technological loophole that could have left secrets open to eavesdroppers.
Sept. 3, 2013
by UT Physics
Project directed by Professor Kenneth Burch to receive CREATE funding.
Hundreds of U of T students and postdoctoral fellows will benefit from $6.6 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council’s CREATE program, which trains the next generation of researchers to tackle Canada’s most pressing scientific challenges.
Aug. 15, 2013
by UT Physics
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Toronto researchers part of international team that caught neutrinos in the act
TRIUMF, a Canadian laboratory for nuclear and particle physics that works in partnership with York University and University of Toronto, announced a new breakthrough in understanding neutrinos -- nature's most elusive particles.
July 23, 2013
by UT Physics
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UofT students take 3 top ten placements for the CAP University Prize Exam
May 7, 2013
by UT Physics
Pioneering physicist Richard Peltier wins Killam Prize
University of Toronto physicist Dick Peltier is the winner of one of five 2013 Killam Prizes, given in honour of his career achievement in science.
April 5, 2013
by UT Physics
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Awards and Honours, Our Faculty
Two outstanding staff awards in Physics
We are pleased to learn that two members of the Department have been selected this year as recipients of Dean’s Outstanding Staff awards.
Feb. 21, 2013
by UT Physics
Pierre Savard “Scientist of the Year 2012” named by Radio Canada
University of Toronto physicist Pierre Savard has been named Radio-Canada’s 2012 Scientist of the Year for his remarkable contribution, along with other Canadian scientists on the ATLAS experiment team, to the discovery of the Higgs boson particle in July of 2012.
Jan. 23, 2013
by UT Physics
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Awards and Honours, Our Faculty