Community News Archive
Photon06
Conference
4 September 2006
Fish and chips at physics conference
Fish and chips are not topics usually discussed at a physics conference, but that is what will happen at this year’s Photon06 conference on 4 – 7 September at the University of Manchester. Prof. Ed Hinds from Imperial College London will open the conference with the lecture Cool atoms on atom chips, whilst Dr Eoin O’Connell and his team from the University of Limerick in Ireland present research on protecting fish from harmful algae using lasers.
Organised by the Institute of Physics and the UK Consortium for Photonics and Optics, Photon06 is the UK’s largest optics meeting.
Research being presented will include:
Cool atoms on atom chips
Clouds of cold atoms, collected and refrigerated by laser light have created the new field of atom optics where cold atoms are manipulated, much as photons are controlled in traditional optics using mirrors, lenses, and waveguides. From the viewpoint of basic science these clouds are a useful new tool for studying the quantum physics of gases close to absolute zero.
Prof. Hinds from Imperial College London will present the advances his team has made in atom optics. This includes the possibilities of confining and manipulating atoms and Bose Einstein condensates in extremely small traps. Scientists at the centre for cold matter group at Imperial College London are developing these ideas by fabricating small structures on silicon which could provide the basis for realising quantum memories and quantum logic gates.
Prof. Hinds will deliver his lecture at 09:00 on 4 September 2006.
On-board monitoring of exhaust emissions using a UV optical fibre based sensor
As part of the EURO 3 directive to reduce the emission of pollutant gases by automobiles, new vehicles are required to be equipped with an onboard system for emission control. In order to help fulfil this requirement a diagnostic monitoring sensor for the detection of nitrogen and sulphur dioxides and nitric oxide is currently under development by Dr Gerard Dooley from the Optical Fibre Research Centre at the University of Limerick.
The sensor will be attached to the exhaust in the undercarriage of the motor vehicle and will transmit the measured levels of the emitted gases to the vehicle's onboard computer. The driver will be able to read the levels at any time during a journey. Eventually the concentration signal will be used in a closed loop manner to control the combustion of the car for minimal environmental pollution.
Dr Dooley will deliver his lecture at 14:15 on 4 September 2006.
Fibre optic detection of harmful algal blooms in seawater
Domoic acid is a toxic amino acid that is produced by certain algae which has recently been detected in high levels off the coasts of Britain and Ireland. It accumulates in shellfish tissue and can pose a serious risk to human health as it passes up the food chain from diatoms to small fish, seabirds, sea mammals, and humans.
Dr Eoin O’Connell from the Optical Fibre Research Centre at the University of Limerick will explain the inexpensive fibre optic based system that he is developing in conjunction with the Irish Marine Institute for the detection of harmful algae blooms. The system will enable measurements to be taken on site rather than sending samples to a laboratory, which can take weeks and is currently the standard method of detection.
Dr Eoin O’Connell will deliver the lecture at 13:45 on 4 September 2006.
Journalists are welcome to attend part or all of the conference.
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