The 6th Physics seminar series (JEF) took place this week, from 2nd to 4th March, at Técnico – Alameda campus. The event was organised by NFIST and included lectures, workshops, lab visits and one day dedicated to the business world.

Professionals from different companies – such as Lusospace or Mercurius Health, participated in the day dedicated to the business world. This Wednesday morning, JEF opened its doors to researchers, who shared the work that has been carried out and its impact.

Miguel Zilhão Nogueira, researcher at GRIT-CENTRA, talked about numerical relativity and its application in the various fields of physics. In a very clear way, he addressed Einstein’s equations, explained the theory of black holes and explained how do gravitational wave detectors work.

Mário Lino da Silva, Técnico professor and IPFN researcher spoke about the European Shock-Tube for High-Enthalpy Research (ESTHER) and its importance for ESA space missions. “The shock-Tube is installed at Técnico – CTN campus and it is part of a project funded by ESA for about ten years. We are currently in the operational phase”. The Técnico professor explained the importance of shock tubes and highlighted “their ability to provide simulations over planetary entry vehicles”. “ESA does not only want a facility that has high performance, but also reliability, repeatability, quality of results and low price”.

According to Catarina Neves, member of NFIST, “we tried to organise lectures on a wide variety of matters and we invited members of research centres to participate in this year’s edition. It was also our concern to organise lectures both for 1st year and senior students”.

Catarina Neves stressed that the Physics Week and JEF, both organised by NFIST, are important. “The physics week is a more outward looking event and aims to show that learning Physics is not a big deal, it’s something that is part of our daily life. JEF aims at students who are taking the course, helping them to put their learning into practice”.