Since it was founded in 1874, the Cavendish Laboratory has been at the forefront of discovery in physics. The core of the Laboratory’s programme has been, and continues to be, experimental physics, supported by excellence in theory. The policy of the Department is to promote world-leading experimental and theoretical physics in all its diversity. At the same time, the Department encourages applied and collaborative research with our colleagues in other departments, with other Universities and particularly with industry.
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the formation of the Universe as we know it, from life and exoplanets to the earliest phases of the Big Bang;
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new types of fundamental interactions and symmetries in particle physics; quantum communication and computing;
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strongly-correlated electron systems;
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ultra-low temperature physics and new states of matter;
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nanoscience;
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the physics of new materials and polymers.
- the application of physics to the biological, biomedical and life sciences.
- Most recently these have been joined by a major initiative in the physics of sustainability, emphasising the role that physics plays in addressing the major problems of the global sustainability of our planet.