
Department of Physics and Astronomy News
Physics and astronomy are two of the most basic and fundamental sciences. Physics is the study of matter, energy, motion, and force. Its concepts help us understand how the universe behaves. Astronomy studies the universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere, including celestial objects and the formation and development of the universe.
Current Physics and Astronomy News

UNLV astrophysicist Zhaohuan Zhu among featured speakers at international conference at M Resort May 1-6; more than a dozen UNLV faculty and students participating.
A collection of news stories highlighting the experts and student changemakers at UNLV.

Findings could have implications for our understanding of distant, water-rich planets.

New study by international team of scientists identifies polarization as key trait that may reveal the origin of the powerful millisecond-long cosmic radio explosions.

A collection of news stories highlighting the experts and events at UNLV.

UNLV astrophysicist Jason Steffen explains key differences between Webb and Hubble.
Physics and Astronomy In The News
A scientist named Jason Steffen conducts computer simulations to facilitate these two processes on flight, which then in 2008 he introduced his method known as The Steffen Perfect and the Steffen Method.

As kids, you probably learned that matter — the stuff that makes up us and everything else — can come in three different states: solid, liquid, and gas.
Water ice is water ice, you might say. Okay, you have rockets, pear ice creams and so on. But if you freeze nothing but pure water—that is, molecules made up of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms—you simply get ice—right?
Water ice is water ice, you might say. Okay, you have rockets, pear ice creams and so on. But if you freeze nothing but pure water—that is, molecules made up of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms—you simply get ice—right?
The global smart space market size is projected to grow from USD 9.4 billion in 2020 to USD 15.3 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.2% during the forecast period. The increasing venture capital funding and growing investments in smart space technology to drive market growth.
Researchers have discovered a new form of ice, which could have implications for our understanding of distant, water-rich planets. The findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Physical Review B’. Solid water, or ice, is like many other materials in that it can form different solid materials based on variable temperatures and pressure conditions, like carbon forming diamond or graphite. However, water is exceptional in this aspect as there are at least 20 solid forms of ice known to us. A team of scientists working in UNLV’s Nevada Extreme Conditions Lab pioneered a new method for measuring the properties of water under high pressure. The water sample was first squeezed between the tips of two opposite-facing diamonds — freezing into several jumbled ice crystals. The ice was then subjected to a laser-heating technique that temporarily melted it before it quickly reformed into a powder-like collection of tiny crystals.
Physics and Astronomy Experts


