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Physics at Oxford aspire to be one of the best physics departments in the world by conducting cutting-edge research and by teaching and developing the careers of the next generation of physicists.
Physics work on major facilities worldwide, develop the most advanced experimental techniques and the most sophisticated theoretical methods to investigate nature at every scale.
Oxford University Physics Department pursues fundamental science and in doing so make discoveries that enable them to contribute directly to tackling the challenging problems facing society.

Series associated with Department of Physics

Oxford Physics Academic Lectures
Oxford Physics Public Lectures
Oxford Physics Research
Oxford Physics Short Talks and Introductions
Quantum Mechanics
Stargazing
The Oxford Solid State Basics
The Physics of Fine-Tuning
Theoretical Physics - From Outer Space to Plasma
# Episode Title Description People Date
107 Creative Commons 05. Chemistry in a Nutshell Lecture 5 in a series of 21 lectures on solid state physics, delivered by Professor Steven H. Simon in early 2014. Steven H. Simon 09 Sep 2014
106 Creative Commons 04. Sommerfeld (Free Electron) Theory of Electrons in Metals Lecture 4 in a series of 21 lectures on solid state physics, delivered by Professor Steven H. Simon in early 2014. Steven H. Simon 09 Sep 2014
105 Creative Commons 03. Drude Theory of Electrons in Metals / Sommerfeld (Free Electron) Theory of Electrons in Metals Lecture 3 in a series of 21 lectures on solid state physics, delivered by Professor Steven H. Simon in early 2014. Steven H. Simon 09 Sep 2014
104 Creative Commons 02. Debye Model of Vibrations in Solids; Drude Theory of Electrons in Metals Lecture 2 in a series of 21 lectures on solid state physics, delivered by Professor Steven H. Simon in early 2014. Steven H. Simon 09 Sep 2014
103 Creative Commons 01. Introduction to Condensed Matter; Einstein Model of Vibrations in Solids First in a series of 21 lectures on solid state physics, delivered by Professor Steven H. Simon in early 2014. Steven H. Simon 09 Sep 2014
102 Oxford Astrophysics A video explaining what is Astrophysics and what's going on in Astrophysics at Oxford Chris Lintott, Roger Davies, Jo Dunkley, katherine blundell 22 Jul 2014
101 Creative Commons Plants, Photosynthesis, and Solar Energy The planet is in trouble; fossil fuels are being depleted and are contributing to global warming. Plants, however, have been directly harnessing solar energy for as long as they have existed. A flash talk from Tomas Leijtens. Tomas Leijtens 07 Jul 2014
100 Creative Commons Are we still in the dark about Dark Matter? Kathryn boast gives a flash talk discussing what we already know about dark matter, and what we still have to find out about it. Kathryn Boast 07 Jul 2014
99 Creative Commons Einstein's Greatest Blunder Albert Einstein is one of the greatest scientists to ever live, and even he made mistakes, as Luke Jew explains - A comforting thought for all of us! This great mistake was about the astrophysics that will ultimately determine how our universe will end. Luke Jew 07 Jul 2014
98 Creative Commons The Hare and the Tortoise A flash talk given by Liam Brannigan about "Connecting the fast and slow parts of the climate system through the stormy upper ocean. " Liam Brannigan 07 Jul 2014
97 Creative Commons Quantum Measurement and Control: How to Roll a Six Everytime In this flash talk Wojciech Kozlowski discusses the bizarre properties of measurement and how we can harness its probabilistic nature to produce results. Wojciech Kozlowski 07 Jul 2014
96 Space - The Ultimate Laboratory What can space teach us about the laws of physics? Space is huge and complicated. This is a challenge, but also gives us the ultimate physics lab. Francesca Day explores this further. Francesca Day 07 Jul 2014
95 Creative Commons How the Universe Evolved From Smooth to Lumpy -- the Physics of Galaxy Formation The 2014 Halley Lecture delivered by Professor Eliot Quataert Eliot Quataert 13 Jun 2014
94 Creative Commons Churchill, Oxford physicists and the Bomb Physics Colloquium 30th May delivered by Graham Farmelo Graham Farmelo 11 Jun 2014
93 Creative Commons PT-symmetric Quantum Mechanics Physics Colloquium 23rd May Delivered by Professor Carl M. Bender Carl Bender 02 Jun 2014
92 Creative Commons Galaxies and the Intergalactic Medium 10th Dennis Sciama Memorial Lecture by Prof. James Binney. James Binney 22 May 2014
91 Creative Commons Turning in the Widening Gyre: Accretion Processes in the Universe Inaugural Lecture by Professor Steven Balbus looking at the history of the universe Steven Balbus 07 Apr 2014
90 Creative Commons Lorenz Gödel and Penrose: new perspectives on determinism and unpredictability, from fundamental physics to the science of climate change The 9th Dennis Sciama Memorial Lecture, looking at chaos theory and climate change Tim Palmer 07 Apr 2014
89 Creative Commons Building stars, planets and the ingredients for life between the stars Halley Lecture 2013 by Professor Dr Ewine van Dishoeck on new developments in astronomy Ewine van Dishoeck 07 Apr 2014
88 Creative Commons The Fast Track to Finding an Inhabited Exoplanet The 8th Hintze Lecture by Professor David Charbonneau looking at investigating habitable exoplanets. David Charbonneau 07 Apr 2014
87 The SKA Matt Jarvis discusses square kilometer array, commonly known as SKA, in this short Stargazing talk. Matt Jarvis 04 Feb 2014
86 Creative Commons Lab, Camera, Action: Tides The Bay of St Brieuc in Brittany has one of the largest tides on Earth. Dr Andrew Steele takes some time out of his holiday, on the day of the highest tide of the year, to find out why. Andrew Steele 03 Feb 2014
85 Creative Commons Lab, Camera, Action: Transit of Venus In June of 2012, one of the rarest predictable astronomical phenomena took place: Venus passed directly in front of the Sun, as seen from Earth. For more information, visit transitofvenus.org. Andrew Steele 03 Feb 2014
84 Creative Commons Lab, Camera, Action: Maglev Train Wheels are so last century. We’ve got a train set which doesn’t have any; it just floats around the track in a billowing cloud of steam. Dr Andrew Steele explains how our superconducting magnetic levitation—or maglev—train really works. Andrew Steele 03 Feb 2014
83 Creative Commons Lab, Camera, Action: Particle Accelerator Dr Andrew Steele takes a look inside the ISIS particle accelerator in Oxfordshire, where scientists use neutrons to investigate the structure of materials, and accelerator physicist Dr Suzie Sheehy explains how this massive machine works. Andrew Steele, Suzie Sheehy 03 Feb 2014
82 Creative Commons Lab, Camera, Action: Make your own CD spectrometer How do we know what the stars are made of when we've never been to one? Dr Andrew Steele shows us how to make a spectrometer, a device used by scientists to analyse light, using a cereal box and a CD. Andrew Steele 03 Feb 2014
81 Is our galaxy special? Chris Lintott looks at the distinctive features of our galaxy and whether it is really special. Chris Lintott 31 Jan 2014
80 Galaxy Zoo project Becky Smethurst from the Zooniverse team outlines the Galaxy Zoo project that allows members of the public to classify new galaxies. Becky Smethurst 31 Jan 2014
79 Zooniverse: Live Grant Miller and Becky Smethurst give a live demonstration of the Zooniverse tool and explain how it works. Becky Smethurst, Grant Miller 30 Jan 2014
78 Atmospheres in the solar system ... and beyond! What is it like on the planets in our solar system? How hot are they? Is there any water? Jo Barstow explains this and more in her talk. Jo Barstow 30 Jan 2014
77 Creative Commons Spin Doctors: Creating a planet's atmosphere in the lab Roland Young discusses his work on studying and recreating the atmospheres of different planets in our solar system. Roland Young 30 Jan 2014
76 Ancient Astronomies - 7000 years in the Kennett Valley Charles Barclay gives a brief overview of the history of Astronomies and some of the fascinating insights that can be gained from these Ancient practices. Charles Barclay 29 Jan 2014
75 Colonisation of Mars - the Great Debate Will there be humans living on Mars in the next 50 years? Is this a good thing, or something that should be completely avoided? Chris Lintott and Colin Wilson debate the pros and cons of this interesting topic. Chris Lintott, Colin Wilson 29 Jan 2014
74 Dark Matter - Are we still in the dark? Kathryn Boast gives a talk about dark matter: what it is, what we know about it, and what the limitations of our knowledge are. Kathryn Boast 28 Jan 2014
73 Inflation - The "BANG" in Big Bang Luke Jew talks about inflation, the process that scientists believe happened at the very start of our universe and is responsible for all the large scale structures that we see around us. Luke Jew 28 Jan 2014
72 Creative Commons Earth-like Planets (and where to find them) Ever wondered if another planet like our own exists in the vast expanse of space around us? Ruth Angus explains her exciting research into Extra Solar Planets (Exo-Planets) and why research in this area is important. Ruth Angus 28 Jan 2014
71 Creative Commons The Physics of the Violin Jesse Liu, winner of the the departmental Speaking Competition for undergraduates, gives a short talk on the physics of a violin. Jesse Liu 13 Dec 2013
70 Creative Commons The coldest place in the Universe Tiffany Harte, Oxford Physics, discusses absolute zero temperatures and how by cooling atoms in a lab we can aim to replicate the coldest place in the Universe. Tiffany Harte 13 Dec 2013
69 Creative Commons Heart of Darkness: The Interplay of Galaxies and Dark Matter A short flash talk from Peter Hatfield, Oxford Physics, who discusses the origins of the galaxies we see in our night sky and the mysterious nature of dark matter. Peter Hatfield 13 Dec 2013
68 Creative Commons Superconductivity -- alchemy for the 21st Century? An exciting talk and demonstration about superconductivity and its potential practical applications by Ben Williams, Oxford Physics. Ben Williams 12 Dec 2013
67 Creative Commons Sea Ice Growth: Mushy layers, Convection and Brinicles Joe Hitchen, Oxford University Physics Department, describe the different stages of sea ice growth and the formation of hollow tubes of ice in the ocean known as brinicles. Joe Hitchen 12 Dec 2013
66 Creative Commons Matter, Antimatter and The Mystery of Existence In this talk Nazim Hussain, Oxford University, will provide an introduction to matter and antimatter and the interplay between them. Nazim Hussain 12 Dec 2013
65 Exoplanets Exoplanets - a talk by Grant Miller. Grant Miller 12 Dec 2013
64 Are we special in the Universe? Peter Hatfield asks if we are special in the Universe. Peter Hatfield 12 Dec 2013
63 Black Holes A talk about Black Holes by Dr Brooke Simmons. Brooke Simmons 12 Dec 2013
62 Astrophotography Mel Gigg, Chipping Norton Amateur Astronomy Group, showcases some of his astrophotography. Mel Gigg 05 Dec 2013
61 Cosmology - What We Don't Know Chris Lintott talks about the unknown in the study of cosmology. Chris Lintott 05 Dec 2013
60 Galaxy Zoo Galaxy Zoo is a Citizen Science project, part of the Zooniverse, which asks the public to classify the morphology of galaxies using images taken by Hubble and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Rebecca Smethurst 05 Dec 2013
59 How to find a Higgs boson The discovery of the Higgs boson last summer is widely regarded as one of the most important scientific discoveries of our time. David Hall 04 Jun 2013
58 What is a Quantum Computer? How does a quantum computer work? Why is a quantum computer so much better than a traditional computer? This talk will give you an insight into the strange features of the quantum world that we can exploit to develop a super fast quantum computer. Michael Peterer 04 Jun 2013
57 Dealing with Frustration - Order in Disorder Magnetic particles can get frustrated in their interactions with other particles because of lattice geometry. Lots of new and exciting physics is involved in understanding how they deal with their frustration. Zhiming Darren Tan 04 Jun 2013
56 Masters of Nature? - The physics of trying to control the climate The Earth's climate is changing; but what are we doing about it? The frustration felt all around the world at the inability to agree a meaningful deal on global carbon dioxide emission leaves people looking for alternatives. Richard Millar 04 Jun 2013
55 Light Fantastic: X-ray Laser Research in Oxford David LLoyd describes how x-rays can be used for far more than identifying broken bones. David Lloyd 04 Jun 2013
54 Creative Commons Extra-solar planets: from science-fiction to reality Since the discovery of the first extra-solar planet in the '90s, our perspective of the Universe has changed. Over the last two decades a whole host of exotic planet systems have been found, including analogues of famous science-fiction-worlds. Ruth Angus 04 Jun 2013
53 Creative Commons Extra-solar planets: from science-fiction to reality Since the discovery of the first extra-solar planet in the '90s, our perspective of the Universe has changed. Over the last two decades a whole host of exotic planet systems have been found, including analogues of famous science-fiction-worlds. Ruth Angus 04 Jun 2013
52 Creative Commons Uncovering Black Holes and Hunting for Planets Dr Brooke Simmons talks about Black Holes and planet hunting. Brooke Simmons 16 Apr 2013
51 The Chelyabinsk Meteor In this talk Dr Ken Amor talks about the Chelyabinsk meteor, which entered Earths atmosphere over Russia on the 15th of February 2013. Ken Amor 16 Apr 2013
50 Stepping into the unknown: the search for new planets Astrophysicist Dr Suzanne Aigrain talks about the search for extra-solar planets. Suzanne Aigrain 16 Apr 2013
49 A History of the Universe in 12 Minutes From big bang to the present day, Chris Lintott summarises the history of the Universe in 12 minutes. Chris Lintott 16 Apr 2013
48 LOFAR and the SKA - The Universe in radio waves In this talk Dr Matt Jarvis talks about radio astronomy. Matt Jarvis 16 Apr 2013
47 Killer asteroids In this talk Jocelyn Bell Burnell talks about large asteroid impacts. Jocelyn Bell Burnell 16 Apr 2013
46 Pluto - no more a planet In this talk Jocelyn Bell Burnell talks about the reclassification of Pluto to a Dwarf planet and the history of its discovery. Jocelyn Bell Burnell 16 Apr 2013
45 Astro Photography Showcase Mel Gigg of the Chipping Norton Amateur Astronomy Group showcases some fantastic amateur astro-photography. Mel Gigg 16 Apr 2013
44 Creative Commons Galaxies as a Plate of Fruit Professor Roger Davies explains how we can learn about the different shapes of galaxies using a plate of fruit and a telescope. Roger Davies 05 Feb 2013
43 Observing with the Naked Eye Charles Barclay offers advice on how to get the most out of stargazing with the naked eye and the astronomical activities to look out for in the coming months. Charles Barclay 04 Feb 2013
42 Stargazing Open Day 2013 In January 2013 over 1,000 people visited the Astronomy Open Day to meet scientists, hear the latest on research at Oxford and find out more about the stars. This video shows the range of hands-on activities that took place throughout the day. Leigh Fletcher, Chris Lintott 31 Jan 2013
41 Large Meteorite Impacts on Earth Ken Amor looks at the science of large meteorite impacts on Earth. Ken Amor 30 Jan 2013
40 Creative Commons Cosmology Jo Dunkley reviews the latest research in Cosmology. Jo Dunkley 30 Jan 2013
39 Creative Commons Robotic Planetary Exploration Leigh Fletcher shows how we can use robots to discover more about the planets. Leigh Fletcher 30 Jan 2013
38 Creative Commons Planets, Planets Everywhere! Dr Chris Lintott, University of Oxford, gives an overview of the discoveries made about the many billions of exo-planets - the planets that surround stars. Chris Lintott 17 Jan 2013
37 Creative Commons Radiation and Reason Professor Wade Allison gives a talk about his book 'Radiation and Reason; The Impact of Science on a Culture of Fear'. Wade Allison 14 Nov 2012
36 Creative Commons Physics and Philosophy: An Introduction On the inextricable links between physics and philosophy and the ways in which one can lead to the other - how they complement each other in answering the big questions. Ankita Anirban 30 Jul 2012
35 Creative Commons From Argument to Experiment Dr Christopher Palmer on the historical ties between physics and philosophy - from ancient philosophical thought through to the scientific revolution and the pioneers of modern physics. Christopher Palmer, Ankita Anirban 30 Jul 2012
34 Creative Commons Space and Time Prof. Frank Arntzenius on whether space and time are absolute entities or simply relational properties derived from the idea of motion - an old debate between Newton and Leibniz, carried on today. Frank Arntzenius, Ankita Anirban 30 Jul 2012
33 Creative Commons Quantum Paradoxes Prof. Vlatko Vedral on the mind-boggling and paradoxical nature of quantum mechanics and its consequences on modern technology - the possibilities of superfast computing and teleportation. Vlatko Vedral, Ankita Anirban 30 Jul 2012
32 Creative Commons Parallel Worlds Dr. David Wallace on the many-worlds theory, an explanation of the baffling results that quantum mechanics provides us with - and that there may be more worlds than just our own. David Wallace, Ankita Anirban 30 Jul 2012
31 Creative Commons Consciousness and Computability Prof. Sir Roger Penrose on the idea of artificial intelligence and whether consciousness can be replicated by a computer - a discussion of new physics which may take us closer to explaining the mind. Roger Penrose, Ankita Anirban 30 Jul 2012
30 Creative Commons Higgs boson-like particle discovery claimed at the Large Hadron Collider Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider claim the discovery of the Higgs boson particle. Alan Barr of Oxford's Physics department, UK physics coordinator for LHC's ATLAS experiment, describes what it means for science. Alan Barr, Steven Legg 05 Jul 2012
29 Creative Commons 027 Hydrogen part 3 Eigenfunctions Twenty seventh lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 05 Mar 2010
28 Creative Commons 026 Hydrogen part 2 Emission Spectra Twenty sixth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 05 Mar 2010
27 Creative Commons 025 Hydrogen part 1 Twenty fifth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 05 Mar 2010
26 Creative Commons 024 Classical Spin and Addition of Angular Momenta Twenty fourth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 05 Mar 2010
25 Creative Commons 023 Spin 1/2 , Stern - Gerlach Experiment and Spin 1 Twenty third lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 05 Mar 2010
24 Creative Commons 022 Spin Angular Momentum Twenty second lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 05 Mar 2010
23 Creative Commons 021 Even further Orbital Angular Momentum - Eigenfunctions, Parity and Kinetic Energy Twenty-first lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 09 Feb 2010
22 Creative Commons 020 Further Orbital Angular Momentum, Spectra of L2 and LZ Twentieth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 09 Feb 2010
21 Creative Commons 019 Diatomic Molecules and Orbital Angular Momentum Nineteenth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 09 Feb 2010
20 Creative Commons 018 Angular Momentum Eighteenth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 04 Feb 2010
19 Creative Commons 017 Einstein-Podolski-Rosen Experiment and Bell's Inequality Seventeenth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 04 Feb 2010
18 Creative Commons 016 Composite Systems - Entanglement and Operators Sixteenth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 04 Feb 2010
17 Creative Commons 015 Tunnelling and Radioactive Decay Fifteenth lecture in the Quantum Mechanics course given in Hilary term 2010. James Binney 26 Jan 2010
16 Creative Commons 014 A Pair of Square Wells and the Ammonia Maser Fourteenth Lecture in the Quantum Mechanics Course given in Hilary term 2010. James Binney 26 Jan 2010
15 Creative Commons 013 Hilary: The Square Well Thirteenth lecture in Professor James Binney's Quantum Mechanics Lecture series given in Hilary Term 2010. James Binney 26 Jan 2010
14 Creative Commons 012 Angular Momentum and Motion in a Magnetic Field Final lecture of the Quantum Mechanics course given in Michaelmas Term 2009. James Binney 11 Dec 2009
13 Creative Commons 011 Transformation of Operators and the Parity Operator Eleventh lecture of the Quantum Mechanics course given in Michaelmas Term 2009. James Binney 11 Dec 2009
12 Creative Commons 010 Transformation of Kets, Continuous and Discrete Transformations and the Rotation Operator Tenth lecture of the Quantum Mechanics course given in Michaelmas Term 2009. James Binney 11 Dec 2009
11 Creative Commons 009 Dynamics of Oscillators and the Anharmonic Oscillator Ninth lecture of the Quantum Mechanics course given in Michaelmas Term 2009. James Binney 11 Dec 2009
10 Creative Commons 008 The Harmonic Oscillator and the Wavefunctions of its Stationary States Eighth lecture of the Quantum Mechanics course given in Michaelmas Term 2009. James Binney 11 Dec 2009
9 Creative Commons 007 Back to Two-Slit Interference, Generalization to Three Dimensions and the Virial Theorem Seventh Lecture of the Quantum Mechanics course given in Michaelmas Term 2009. James Binney 11 Dec 2009
8 Creative Commons 006 Wavefunctions for Well Defined Momentum, the Uncertainty Principle and Dynamics of a Free Particle Sixth lecture of the Quantum Mechanics course given in Michaelmas Term 2009. James Binney 11 Dec 2009