Without adequate methods, science is essentially blind. Why, then, is it so hard to secure funding for pure method development? Daniel Tchoń from the Institute of Physics of the CAS shares his journey towards scientific software development and why he views science as a form of art.
The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences organizes the Physics Photography 2025 competition, which this year is thematically dedicated to "wealth". The main goal of the competition is to popularize the beauty of physics and to break the stereotypes of the perception of this field of science. The photography competition ends with the announcement of winners and an exhibition of the awarded and selected photos during the Night of Scientists, which is organized by the institute in the Na Slovance facility on Friday, September 26, 2025.
This year, we mark the tenth anniversary of International Women and Girls in Science Day with the life story of our colleague Evgenia Chitrova, head of the Rare-Earth and Actinide Science Research Group in the Department of Magnetic Measurements and Materials. Her story is the perfect proof that encounters with science and an indomitable curiosity shape a lifelong commitment to scientific work.
In December, a new mural dedicated to the only Czech winner of the Nobel Prize in the field of natural sciences, Jaroslav Heyrovský, was ceremoniously unveiled at Ládví. In their work the authors, Josefína Jonášová and Štěpán Jílek, interconnected science, history and the local community.
As part of the Week of the Academy of Sciences the staff of the Institute of Physics present groundbreaking research to students and the curious public. This year was no exception. The opportunity to get a glimpse into the world of scientific experiments and cutting-edge technologies that scientists work with on a daily basis has been taken by 1348 visitors.
Did you know that the displays of the future could be brighter and more colourful, yet more energy efficient? This technological advancement is made possible by quantum dots – objects so small that they behave according to the laws of quantum physics that govern the behaviour of the microworld.
Where does science end and art begin, and vice versa? This is the question posed to visitors by the new exhibition Reflections, which brings together the works of four leading Czech and Polish artists, scientific perspectives on their artworks and new works inspired by these scientific analyses. Science turns its gaze to art, which returns it, and the cycle of inspiration unfolds.
This year's photo competition of the Institute of Physics surprised the jury not only by the number of images submitted, but also by the variety of topics chosen by the contestants. This year's main theme was physical phenomena.
This year's Researchers‘ Night at the Institute of Physics, although rainy and gloomy, attracted 494 visitors to the premises of the Institute of Physics, who overcame the bad weather to immerse themselves in the world of science. Participants were impressed by the beauties of the microworld, the starry sky in the mobile planetarium, scintillating crystals and followed the tracks of invisible particles in the fog chamber. Physics enthusiasts could attend a panel discussion with leading scientists. Yet the evening was not only about science. The program also featured the Sleeping Lion drama group with a two-act comedy from the period of the First Republic and a screening of photo contest images. The contest winner announcement ended the night's program.
