The laws of dynamics 05-01-2025 SOMMERIA Joël Newton’s law linking force and acceleration is at the origin of modern physics. Applied to each plot of fluid, it is at the heart of…
What is energy? 05-02-2019 VILLAIN Jacques Energy exists in various forms: mechanical, potential or kinetic energy, electrical, chemical, nuclear and finally heat. Energy is essential for all living beings, and first…
Radioactivity and nuclear reactions 05-01-2025 BARRÉ Bertrand For the nucleus of an atom to be stable, it needs a certain proportion of neutrons and protons. Otherwise, it undergoes a series of disintegrations…
Harnessing nuclear energy 05-01-2025 BARRÉ Bertrand A nuclear reactor converts into electricity the heat produced by the fission of uranium nuclei. This electricity production can be adjusted according to demand. During…
Pressure, temperature and heat 05-02-2019 SOMMERIA Joël Pressure, temperature and heat are quantities used in everyday life, especially in meteorology. Their physical definition, is however more complex than it seems. It is…
Diffusion, the ultimate step in a good mixture 05-01-2025 MOREAU René Chemical species such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, or sugar in coffee, end up, after a while, being intimately mixed with the surrounding…
Stratification and instabilities in natural fluid environments 05-01-2025 PADET Jacques What is the relationship between a fog layer, a rainbow cocktail or piles of geological layers? These structures are all superimpositions of distinct layers, like…
Archimedes’ thrust and lift 05-01-2025 MOREAU René To compensate for their weight, the gigantic cargo ships that travel the oceans benefit from Archimedes’ thrust. But why are they so stable and never…
Drag suffered by moving bodies 05-01-2025 MOREAU René, SOMMERIA Joël Why does a swimmer have so much difficulty moving through the water? Why do large ships consume so much energy to overcome water resistance? And…
How matter deforms: fluids and solids 05-01-2025 DARVE Félix An ice cube in a glass is a fragile elastic solid, but the Sea of Ice in Chamonix flows like a viscous fluid. Indeed, any…
On the contributions to statistical physics of Giorgio Parisi, Nobel Prize winner 2021 05-01-2025 BENZI Roberto, FRISCH Uriel Three Laureates share the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies of complex phenomena. Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of our…
The emission, propagation and perception of sound 05-01-2025 MOREAU René Soft notes of music, the hum of an engine, the stridence of a jackhammer… How are sounds produced and how do they get to our…
The thermal radiation of the black body 05-01-2025 BELORIZKY Elie, PIQUE Jean-Paul Why does the colour of a metal change when it is heated? How can the temperature of a light source such as a tungsten filament…
Why 5G? 05-01-2025 DORE Jean-Baptiste Since the 1980s/1990s, a new “G technology” has been proposed every 10 years (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and soon 6G already at the research stage)…
Glass: a material for eternity 26-05-2024 ROUX Didier Omnipresent in our environment and now indispensable in our lives, glass is a material with extraordinary properties: transparent, tough, and durable, it can be coloured,…
Aluminium: a lightweight, recyclable and metallic material 12-01-2025 WANG Xiaodong In today’s world, lightweight technology has become the key to the development of many industries as environmental awareness increases and energy efficiency is pursued. Aluminium,…
